Friends debuted in the fall of 1994, and it did not take long for the show to become a household name. At the time of their debut, the six lead performers weren’t largely unknown and were newcomers. Headlining the single sitcom changed their lives forever. Most of the cast almost did not land their roles or had auditioned for others. Still, at the end of the day, they all were perfectly cast for their characters. Matthew Perry as the ever sarcastic Chandler, Courteney Cox as the cleaning freak Monica, Matt LeBlanc as the teddy bear Joey, Jennifer Aniston as the fashion icon Rachel, David Schwimmer as the ”DOCTOR” Ross Geller, and Lisa Kudrow as the fun loving Phoebe Buffay turned the show into a timeless classic.
Just like Lisa Kudrow, Everyone Had A Difficult Begining
Initially, Monica had auditioned to play the role of Rachel which eventually landed to Jennifer Aniston. Matthew Perry had committed to the pilot of another sitcom called LAX 2194, but after it fell through, he was able to try out for Friends. Similarly, we almost did not get the iconic Phoebe Buffay we all know and love today. Lisa Kudrow is known for playing the quirky, aloof musician and massage therapist, Phoebe Buffay. She won the audience over with a youthful innocence. However, her big break and decades-long career in television and film didn’t come easy. It came after another devastating news.
A Year Before Friends
A year before Friends hit TV screens in 1994, Frasier hit the screens. It was a spin-off of another hit show, Cheers, which followed a radio psychiatrist (Kelsey Grammer). Frasier also became a huge success with 11 seasons and an impressive 264 episodes, with many awards. The show was led by Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, and Peri Gilpin and many more.
Getting Fired From Frasier
Originally, the role was being played by Lisa Kudrow but the actress later revealed that she worked on the show for only three days. She told People that she was fired on the behest of director James Burrows, who said she wasn’t right for the part. Lisa recalled, “I wasn’t right for the part for the chemistry of the group. So that wasn’t working, but I did think, ‘Oh, I am not this guy’s cup of tea.'”
In 2024, she opened up about getting fired from Frasier in an interview with Sean Hayes on the SmartLess podcast, also co-hosted by Jason Bateman and Will Arnett. She said Frasier was “devastating” and that director James Burrows said, “This isn’t working,” during the pilot’s run-through. She added that Gilpin was meant to play Roz. “I was trying to like [ask], ‘What can I do?’ But I think they did make a casting mistake because I went to the network with Perri Gilpin,” Kudrow said. “I think they were just correcting a mistake. Cause Perri should have always been Roz.”
Fraiser Producer Later Praised Lisa Kudrow
Kudrow may not have been the right choice for Roz Doyle in Cheers, but series creator and executive producer Peter Casey later praised Kudrow in his memoir. He wrote, “Her quirkiness made lines that weren’t intended as jokes hilarious.”
Mad About You Was A Life Saving Job
Getting fired from Frasier was a setback for Kudrow, but she soon booked a guest-starring role on Mad About You. The actress also pointed out that working on the show “changed a lot” for her. She said in a 2024 interview, “I did a guest star on Mad About You, they had me back, I’d already done a guest star the first season. So now I’m there for a different character, and my agent said, ‘You’re not doing this.’”
Kudrow said her agent has advised again booking the character as it was only called “Waitress,” but Kudrow told them she was “not in a position to say no. It’s to me the best show, and I’m doing it.” It changed things for her, as at the end of the week, Mad About You creator and writer Danny Jacobson said, “You’re so funny. Would you be OK doing five more episodes?”
“I just went, ‘Yes!’ There’s my rent for the year. I don’t have to get another job,” Kudrow added.
How Did She Audition For Emmy Award Winning Role On Friends
According to Vulture, after her firing from Frasier, Lisa Kudrow was struggling to secure work. At the time, she only had a recurring role as Ursula Buffay on Mad About You. Ursula also went on to become an iconic character in Friends as Phoebe’s twin sister. Kudrow, during her 2010 commencement speech for her alma mater, Vassar College, recalled the process. She said she was urged to “come in to read for his new show about six twenty-somethings who lived in New York and hung out at a coffee house.”
Among a group of other performers, Kudrow auditioned for it and was the only cast member who’d have to audition directly for the director James Burrows. Recalling James Burrow’s reaction, she said, “I did it and he went, ‘No notes,’.” Kudrow added, “I left going, ‘That either means she’s beyond help and helpless, just like I always knew,’ or ‘Yeah, it’s perfect. I have no notes.'”
Lisa Kudrow Was Terrified During Pilot
Lisa Kudrow revealed that she was “terrified” during her first week on Friends. “Shooting the pilot that week, I was like, ‘All right, here we go.’ And Phoebe was not the character that was part of this group really, that easily. There was a struggle,” she explained. She revealed that Burrows was vocal about his concerns regarding how Phoebe fit into the group and it made her more nervous. Kurdrow was worried that she’d lose the role again. “And I was like, ‘Oh, my God. Here we go again,” but she proved to be the perfect fit for the character as we all know and have seen her doing it for a decade.
Despite all the struggles at the beginning of the show, and few during the decade-long filming, Lisa’s performance has turned Pheboe into one of the most iconic comedy roles ever. She was also the first cast member to win an Emmy for the show in 1998 and took home the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
