Even though 'Friends' ended over 15 years ago, fans are still obsessed with everything related to the main characters. But they're also picking apart other roles on the show, from celebrity guest appearances to baby mamas who disappeared from the friends' lives.
There are plenty of questions, of course.
Like, what does Janice from 'Friends' look like now? And how did Sean Penn end up landing a guest role?
Of course, we've already answered those questions. This one is new: how did Carol end up being Carol?
Like other stars on the show, the show's longest-running Carol, ex-wife of Ross, has an interesting origin story. Jane Sibbett may not have been the producers' first pick for the role of Carol. But she did become the most well-known Carol.
Though she wasn't technically the "original," Jane Sibbett earns the title because she carried the role through the entire series (though appearances petered out in later seasons).
As for why Carol, Susan, and even Ben disappeared in later seasons, fans are pretty sure they've got that figured out. As Quora commenters note, rehashing the same old drama between Ross and Rachel and Carol and Susan would have gotten boring, fast.
Plus, when the show's central characters began to earn fame, they also had higher cash earnings. Fans feel like the producers probably didn't see the point in keeping Carol's part of the family around.
Besides, Cole Sprouse, who played Ben, had other roles to move on to. While he was adorable on 'Friends,' his debut on 'The Suite Life of Zack & Cody' was what skyrocketed him to fame just three years later.
But what about Carol? Jane Sibbett told News.com.au that she sort of stumbled her way into the role of Carol.
The role she actually auditioned for was that of Rachel Green. It's not widely publicized, though, as Jane says, "I usually don’t tell people that because Jen … There’s no one who could’ve done it like Jen."
At the same time, why on earth would anyone have passed on the part? Jane said it came down to the fact that she was pregnant when she auditioned but wasn't showing yet. She pushed her agent to be honest with the show's producers, because it was only a matter of time before the 'secret' would be out anyway.
Jane's honesty led to her being passed over for the role of Rachel.
And at that point, though she had read the script and was hoping to play Carol, producers said 'thanks, but no thanks.'
Later, though, Jane related, right after her son was born, 'Friends' wanted her back. The actress they initially cast as Carol, Anita Barone, quit immediately following the pilot. Multiple sources say she left to pursue more regular work.
That was the only 'in' Jane needed; two days postpartum, Jane acted in the scene featuring Ben Geller's birth, and the rest is history.
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