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Lisa Kudrow candidly admitted that she isn’t the fan-favorite character on the beloved TV series “Friends.”
The actress reflected on her role as the quirky Phoebe Buffay in the iconic sitcom, which also featured stars like Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and the late Matthew Perry.
In an interview with the Independent published on Saturday, Kudrow shared, “Nobody cared about me,” revealing that parts of her talent agency would refer to her merely as “the sixth Friend.”
Despite clinching an Emmy in 1998 for her role as the endearingly eccentric Phoebe in the best supporting actress in a comedy series category, Kudrow noted that many doubted her career longevity in Hollywood.
Reflecting on her experience, she said, “There was no vision for me, and no expectations about the kind of career I could have.” She added, “There was just a sentiment of ‘boy, is she lucky she got on that show.’”
“Friends” aired for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. She also reflected on playing the beloved character in a recent Q&A with Lily Tomlin for Interview magazine — noting how different she is from Phoebe in real life.
“At first, Phoebe was very, very far from me,” she shared. “It took a lot of work to justify the things she would say and do. Not in an irritating way — it was fun.”
“Over the course of 10 years, a little bit of her came into me,” she continued, “I lightened up a little more and read some books on spirituality and things, just to try to understand her.”
Kudrow insisted Phoebe was not a “ditzy” character, which some people perceived her as.
“At the time, it was like, “She’s such a ditz. How is it that you only play ditzes?” And I thought, Is she a ditz? To me, she wasn’t.” she said.
“In 1994, it was like, “I love her. She’s such a ditz.” And it’s like, yeah, okay, that was what a ditz was to us. Someone who wasn’t towing the line.”
Kudrow, 62, has been promoting the third and final season of “The Comeback,” and she recently got real about aging in Hollywood.
The actress told the Hollywood Reporter she didn’t try Botox until she was 60, but she was “probably done with it.”
“I am scared of having to see myself looking like my grandmother one day, but I’m excited to play older roles,” she explained.
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