You Won’t Believe Which DC Star Almost Played Joey on Friends
DCU actor Frank Grillo nearly became Friends’ Joey Tribbiani—an almost-casting that might have rewritten sitcom history.
File this under great Hollywood what-ifs: Frank Grillo once came shockingly close to being Joey Tribbiani on Friends. Yes, that Frank Grillo — the gritty action guy from The Purge and the MCU, now parked in the DCU. He brought the story up during a recent chat and it is one of those sliding-doors moments that would have completely rewritten TV history.
How close did he get?
Very. On Lights, Camera, Barstool, Grillo said this all started over three decades ago when he tagged along to a pal's audition. A casting agent spotted him, asked him to read, and things escalated fast from there. He had no agent, no real plan, just a face in the waiting room who suddenly found himself getting callbacks and then a test — the kind of final audition where dreams either happen or pop.
'At that point, I go, This is easy. I'm gonna be an actor.'
Of course, Matt LeBlanc ultimately landed Joey, and in hindsight Grillo has zero bitterness about that. He calls LeBlanc the 'perfect' choice for the role. Hard to argue — the guy turned 'How you doin'?' into a lifestyle.
The near-miss, in quick beats
- Grillo was noticed while accompanying a friend to an audition, got asked to read on the spot.
- He had no agent, but still got called back multiple times.
- He tested for Joey Tribbiani — as in, the real-deal final audition stage.
- Thought he had it, but the role went to Matt LeBlanc.
- That brush with Friends pushed him to take acting seriously.
What he did instead
Missing out on Joey ended up being the shove he needed. Grillo built a steady career across TV and film — think Prison Break, The Purge franchise, and a tour through the Marvel Cinematic Universe — carving out a niche for bruised-knuckle heroes and complicated tough guys.
Now, into the DCU
James Gunn tapped him to play Rick Flag Sr. across DC projects, starting with the animated series Creature Commandos and then continuing into Peacemaker Season 2. It is a full-circle kind of role: a grieving father with a score to settle, crossing paths with John Cena's Peacemaker and driving the story with some actual emotional heft. Rick Flag Sr. is out for revenge over his son's death, and Grillo is leaning into that pain.
The Friends footnote
Friends, created by Marta Kauffman and David Crane, ran from 1994 to 2004 and is still streaming on HBO Max. The Joey we got is iconic. But imagining Grillo in that rent-controlled apartment? That is one weird, fascinating alternate timeline — and a fun little piece of TV what-if trivia that also explains how Grillo ended up chasing the career he has now.