Peep Show star David Mitchell has claimed Russell Brand was rejected for a part in the hit comedy.
Russell Brand auditioned for the role of Super Hans
The comedian said that the Radio 2 presenter auditioned for the role of Super Hans but was turned down by the writers.
Mitchell said: "Apparently Russell auditioned for the part of Super Hans before he was well known on the first series. So he was almost in it. But I bet he would be a handful now."
Peep Show revolves around two central characters, Jeremy, played by Rob Webb, and Mark, played by Mitchell.
The character Super Hans is a friend of Jeremy's, an untrustworthy fantasist who likes to think he is above everyone else.
The show's fifth series is due to air in May. It picks up where the previous season left off with the pair coming back from a honeymoon following Mark's marriage to his office colleague, Sophie, played by Olivia Coleman.
In recent years, Brand's career as a comedian and TV presenter has gone from strength to strength.
He recently completed his first major Hollywood movie, Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
The plot of the film revolves around a man who gets dumped by his girlfriend for a rock star, played by Brand.
Director Nicholas Dollar said Brand's carefree approach helped him win the role.
He added: "Russell came into the audition and he said, 'I've only had a chance to take a cursory glance at the script, 'What is it you require of me?'.
"We thought our casting director was playing a prank on us so we just said, 'You can be loose with the pages,' and he said, 'Oh, you mean like improvisation?' as if he'd never heard of it. We just laughed and did a dance for joy."
Forgetting Sarah Marshall is out in UK cinemas on 25 April.