
Lisa Kudrow says her Friends character Phoebe ‘was so far from who I am'
The 61-year-old from Los Angeles played one of six friends featured in the hit US sitcom which also starred Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt Le Blanc and the late Matthew Perry.
Speaking to US actress Parker Posey for Variety's Actors On Actors series, she said: 'It (the series) was fun the whole time, because we had fun, the cast had fun.
'It was like a collaboration with the writers, because they were so great and nice and good.
'But me being Phoebe was so far from who I was as a human being that it was work.
'I needed to justify everything she was saying in my head so that it felt like she meant it and it was real to her. It was a lot of work.
'And I remember like season two or three, and I was just doing it, and went, 'Oh my god, I'm not doing the work. I don't know if this is going as well. I'm not doing the work'.
'I was really fretting over it. And (Matt) LeBlanc went, 'What's the matter with you?'. I said, 'I'm not doing the work that I did. I used to like really work, and he said, 'You're her. You don't have to do it anymore'.'
Alongside her role in Friends, Kudrow is known for starring in a number of TV series as well as comedy films Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and The Opposite Of Sex.
In 2023 she thanked her late co-star Perry for 'the best 10 years a person gets to have' while filming Friends in a tribute following his death at the age of 54.
During their conversation, Posey, who has starred in films including Dazed And Confused and Superman Returns, spoke about one of her more recent roles playing a southern woman called Victoria Ratliff in season three of Mike White's dark comedy, The White Lotus.
She said: 'It was such a gift to have this middle-aged woman at this time in my life, in my career, to be the southern woman.
'I was reading Tennessee Williams in junior high and high school and southern writers and all of this. So I was like, I just ate it up.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BreakingNews.ie
5 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Aimee Lou Wood and Walton Goggins on ‘ridiculous' feud rumours
The White Lotus co-stars Aimee Lou Wood and Walton Goggins have both denied rumours that either of them are in a feud as 'ridiculous'. There has been speculation that the two co-stars had drifted apart after being on the HBO show, which follows the lives of guests and staff at a luxury resort as dark secrets are revealed and tensions rise over the course of the holiday. Advertisement The third series sees the positive Chelsea, played by British actress Wood, 31, try to keep her mysterious older boyfriend, Rick, played by 53-year-old US actor Goggins, calm in Thailand. Walton Goggins. (Ian West/PA) Following the 2025 series, Goggins appeared to step away from his fellow co-stars, and unfollow Greater Manchester-born Wood on Instagram. They both addressed the swirling rumours during a joint interview for US publication Variety, which was published on Wednesday. Goggins said: 'There is no feud. I adore, I love this woman (Aimee) madly, and she is so important to me.' Advertisement He added that 'she's special', and explained he had not addressed the reports before as he did not want to talk about Wood when she was not there. 'I think it's such a comment on where we're at culturally. Why is everyone obsessing over Instagram? That is irrelevant. We don't give a shite about Instagram,' Wood said. Goggins said that when he finished The White Lotus he 'needed to just back away from everyone', as it is his 'process' when filming a project ends. 'It's all so ridiculous,' he said. Advertisement 'It's just a part of me just saying goodbye to this character so that now Aimee and I will be friends for f****** ever.' Wood previously criticised a Saturday Night Live sketch, with an cast member impersonating her with exaggerated prosthetic teeth, calling it 'mean and unfunny' on Instagram. She told Variety that it 'felt misogynistic. It felt like the punchline was a woman's appearance, which is just not funny. It's not cool'. Goggins shared the same sketch online and praised Jon Hamm for playing a version of his character, before deleting the Instagram post, ahead of hosting SNL> Advertisement He said he was 'gonna say it (something) to your face', and added: 'I don't use social media in any way, and I'm not a mean guy.' SNL apologised for the April sketch, according to Wood, and the comedian and cast member who impersonated her, Sarah Sherman, sent her flowers to apologise. Wood is also known for Netflix teen show Sex Education, BBC comedy Daddy Issues and the 2022 drama film Living with Bill Nighy. Goggins has been in Western series Justified, post-apocalyptic series Fallout, and drama Sons Of Anarchy. Advertisement He has had two Emmy nods, while Wood has won a TV Bafta for Sex Education and been given a Rising Star Bafta nomination.


South Wales Guardian
7 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Lisa Kudrow says her Friends character Phoebe ‘was so far from who I am'
The 61-year-old from Los Angeles played one of six friends featured in the hit US sitcom which also starred Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt Le Blanc and the late Matthew Perry. Speaking to US actress Parker Posey for Variety's Actors On Actors series, she said: 'It (the series) was fun the whole time, because we had fun, the cast had fun. 'It was like a collaboration with the writers, because they were so great and nice and good. 'But me being Phoebe was so far from who I was as a human being that it was work. 'I needed to justify everything she was saying in my head so that it felt like she meant it and it was real to her. It was a lot of work. 'And I remember like season two or three, and I was just doing it, and went, 'Oh my god, I'm not doing the work. I don't know if this is going as well. I'm not doing the work'. 'I was really fretting over it. And (Matt) LeBlanc went, 'What's the matter with you?'. I said, 'I'm not doing the work that I did. I used to like really work, and he said, 'You're her. You don't have to do it anymore'.' Alongside her role in Friends, Kudrow is known for starring in a number of TV series as well as comedy films Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and The Opposite Of Sex. In 2023 she thanked her late co-star Perry for 'the best 10 years a person gets to have' while filming Friends in a tribute following his death at the age of 54. During their conversation, Posey, who has starred in films including Dazed And Confused and Superman Returns, spoke about one of her more recent roles playing a southern woman called Victoria Ratliff in season three of Mike White's dark comedy, The White Lotus. She said: 'It was such a gift to have this middle-aged woman at this time in my life, in my career, to be the southern woman. 'I was reading Tennessee Williams in junior high and high school and southern writers and all of this. So I was like, I just ate it up.'

Leader Live
19 hours ago
- Leader Live
Lisa Kudrow says her Friends character Phoebe ‘was so far from who I am'
The 61-year-old from Los Angeles played one of six friends featured in the hit US sitcom which also starred Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt Le Blanc and the late Matthew Perry. Speaking to US actress Parker Posey for Variety's Actors On Actors series, she said: 'It (the series) was fun the whole time, because we had fun, the cast had fun. 'It was like a collaboration with the writers, because they were so great and nice and good. 'But me being Phoebe was so far from who I was as a human being that it was work. 'I needed to justify everything she was saying in my head so that it felt like she meant it and it was real to her. It was a lot of work. 'And I remember like season two or three, and I was just doing it, and went, 'Oh my god, I'm not doing the work. I don't know if this is going as well. I'm not doing the work'. 'I was really fretting over it. And (Matt) LeBlanc went, 'What's the matter with you?'. I said, 'I'm not doing the work that I did. I used to like really work, and he said, 'You're her. You don't have to do it anymore'.' Alongside her role in Friends, Kudrow is known for starring in a number of TV series as well as comedy films Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and The Opposite Of Sex. In 2023 she thanked her late co-star Perry for 'the best 10 years a person gets to have' while filming Friends in a tribute following his death at the age of 54. During their conversation, Posey, who has starred in films including Dazed And Confused and Superman Returns, spoke about one of her more recent roles playing a southern woman called Victoria Ratliff in season three of Mike White's dark comedy, The White Lotus. She said: 'It was such a gift to have this middle-aged woman at this time in my life, in my career, to be the southern woman. 'I was reading Tennessee Williams in junior high and high school and southern writers and all of this. So I was like, I just ate it up.'