It’s hard to imagine anyone but Steve Carell as Michael Scott or Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, but many of TV’s most iconic sitcom leads were almost played by someone else. From surprising auditions to near-misses and last-minute switches, here are some of the casting choices that could’ve changed the course of television comedy…

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Bob Odenkirk as Michael Scott in The Office (2005)

The Better Call Saul (2015) star made it to the final two, alongside Steve Carell, in the running to play Michael Scott in The Office . Executive producer Ben Silverman told Esquire, “We still had Bob as somebody we were in love with as a comedic performer. But Steve…had such a Midwestern-accessible, lovable comedic energy. He had that thing.”

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