"It’s sort of like someone shook me"— Lisa Kudrow shares how F.R.I.E.N.D.S. co-star Matt LeBlanc helped her ease into Phoebe's character

In a recent appearance on Sirius XM’s Where Everybody Knows Your Name, actress Lisa Kudrow spoke about her hit show F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and how her former co-star, Matt LeBlanc, helped her with the portrayal of her character, Phoebe Buffay.

While speaking to the host, Ted Danson, on July 31, 2024, Lisa Kudrow revealed that it took her “maybe two seasons” before she felt like she “had Phoebe down.” She recalled how she felt something was “wrong” after the second and third seasons and how LeBlanc helped her.

"I’m like, 'Something’s wrong,' ‘cause I’m not doing the work I was doing. I’m slacking off. I’m being lazy and I was getting really mad at myself, and LeBlanc came. He said, 'What’s going on with you?' I said, 'I’m being lazy. I’m not doing the work that I did first season, second season. I’m not doing the work I did for Phoebe, so it can’t be good.'

"And he went, 'No, you know who the character is now. You don’t need to do the work you did. You got it,” and I went, 'What? Oh. That was enough. It’s sort of like someone shook me ‘cause I was getting hysterical. I wasn’t literally getting hysterical, but you know like if you’re getting hysterical, someone slaps you back. You’re like, 'Oh, thanks. That’s what I needed,'" she shared.

Lisa Kudrow, who started her acting career in 1983, rose to success after being cast as Phoebe Buffay in F.R.I.E.N.D.S., which started airing in September 1994 and ran for 19 years until May 2004.

Apart from Lisa Kudrow, the show also stars Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Courtney Cox as Monica Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, and David Schwimmer as Ross Geller.

---

“After Matthew died, I could start watching the show again”— Lisa Kudrow said about F.R.I.E.N.D.S after Perry’s demise

Kudrow's recent statements about her friendship with F.R.I.E.N.D.S star Matt LeBlanc and how he helped her cope with her role isn't the first time she has spoken up about the 1994 show.

In a podcast episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend earlier in July, Lisa Kudrow spoke about how she started to rewatch all the F.R.I.E.N.D.S episodes after Matthew Perry passed away in October 2023.

“I used to not be able to watch it at all. I mean, I'd see it on and be mildly interested, and then I'd see me and say, that's enough of that. I can't bear it. And then well, listen. After Matthew died, I could start watching the show again because it wasn't about me. It had to do with him for some reason.

“And so I have started watching Friends. Not started like season 1 ... But there are marathons on, and I have spent, at times, since he died all day long watching the show,” she said.

---

F.R.I.E.N.D.S has been a fan favorite ever since it was released three decades back. Written by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, the series received several awards and nominations including the Primetime Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Award, People’s Choice Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, and even the American Comedy Award.