Hank Azaria wanted to play Joey Tribbiani on 'Friends' so badly that he auditioned twice

Friends is fresh in everybody's minds as the long-awaited Friends: The Reunion special is set to hit HBO Max on Thursday.

Now, Hank Azaria has brought new fodder to the table: what would the iconic '90s and early aughts sitcom have been like if Joey Tribbiani were played by him? The 57-year-old admitted on The Late Late Show with James Corden he wanted to be Joey so badly that, for the only time in his career, he insisted on auditioning twice.

"Matthew Perry is actually a very dear friend of mine, and so we all read this script and knew—we didn't know it was gonna be the huge phenomenon it turned into, but we knew it was great," Azaria told Corden, who hosted Friends: The Reunion. "And so, we were all desperate to be in it."

The six-time Emmy winner continued: "I auditioned for Joey and didn't get it, and I was like, 'I have to go back; I have to try again.' So, I bowled my way back in for a second time. And they were very kind and watched my audition and then threw me out. Spoiler alert: I didn't get the role of Joey. But then they were kind enough to have me back as David, the scientist guy."

Azaria played David in five episodes spanning from 1994 to 2003. He first appeared in Season 1 as a love interest for Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) before his burgeoning career as a scientist took him away to Minsk. He then reappeared at different points of Phoebe's life in New York, culminating in a near-engagement before Mike (Paul Rudd) realizes he's in love with Phoebe at the last possible moment.