The Reason Friends Turned Down Justin Timberlake for a Guest Role

From featuring celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Christina Applegate to smaller roles from Craig Robinson and Ellen Pompeo, Friends certainly had no shortage of major guest stars. Throughout its 10-season run, we've seen the Central Perk crew interact with a ton of A-listers, and as it turns out, Grammy winner Justin Timberlake was nearly one of them.

As Insider reports, the showrunners were approached about casting the former NSYNC member in a guest role, but ultimately turned him down. In a 2014 interview to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary, creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane recalled what went down.

"We got a call that Justin Timberlake wanted to do the show," Kauffman remembered, with Crane explaining, "We had a meeting with him, and he was lovely, but we didn’t have a good part for him." Apparently the iconic orange couch wasn't the right fit for the singer, and no, fans aren't the only ones upset with the decision. "My kids were furious. They wanted to kill me," Kauffman added.

As you'd expect, most of the actors who did end up guest-starring on Friends loved the experience. But there are a few who actually regretted it. As Screen Rant reports, Kathleen Turner (who played Charles Bing) and Tate Donovan (who played Joshua) have both expressed complaints about their time on the show.

Though it wasn't meant to be for Timberlake, we can't help but imagine the former boy band star going on a few dates with Rachel or Phoebe.

[h/t Insider]