Lisa Kudrow Makes Sad Confession About Her Place In ‘Friends’ Cast

Jason Sargent Monday, April 6, 2026

Binitha JacobMon, April 6, 2026 at 8:00 AM UTC

Lisa Kudrow spoke about being in the shadows of her Friends co-stars during the show’s golden years.

In the mid-90s, Friends exploded into a global phenomenon that made Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and the late Matthew Perry, some of the most recognizable faces in the world.

But the 62-year-old star, who played one of television’s most iconic oddball Phoebe Buffay, said nobody “cared” about her like they did about the rest of cast.

Lisa Kudrow spoke about being in the shadows of her Friends co-stars during the show’s golden years

Image credits: Samir Hussein/Getty Images

Lisa Kudrow recently told Interview that Phoebe’s character was “very, very far” from what she is like in real life.

“It took a lot of work to justify the things she would say and do. Not in an irritating way—it was fun,” she said.

A little bit of Phoebe eventually “came into [her]” after having immersed into the character for 10 seasons.

“I lightened up a little more and read some books on spirituality and things, just to try to understand her,” she added.

Image credits: Alice S. Hall/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

The 62-year-old actress recalled how most people saw her character as “such a ditz” and would ask her, “how is it that you only play ditzes?” But she didn’t see the character like that.

“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,” she continued. “…But she wasn’t stupid.”

The Emmy winner recalled how most people saw her character as “such a ditz” and would ask, “how is it that you only play ditzes?”

Image credits: Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

By the second season of the show, fame had hit the six-member cast like a tidal wave. But Kudrow said it would sting when she wasn’t treated like the others.

“Nobody cared about me,” she told the Independent with a laugh.

“There were certain parts of [my talent agency] that just referred to me as ‘the sixth Friend,’” she added.

Image credits: lisakudrow

Off-camera, there was a media narrative about her being intimidating or difficult to deal with on set, especially after the historic negotiation between the Friends ensemble and NBC.

The cast famously stood united against the network and pushed for equal pay across the board.

The result was NBC agreeing to pay an unprecedented $1 million per episode to each of the six stars for seasons 9 and 10.

Kudrow dispelled certain rumors that arose from the show that ran for 10 seasons

Image credits: lisakudrow

Contrary to rumors, Kudrow said she did not spearhead the negotiation.

“I absolutely was not the ringleader,” she told the outlet. “And that was reported, and it wasn’t true. My team were very angry about that.”

Image credits: Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

“It was leaked sort of as a warning to other clients like, ‘don’t do something like that.’”

The actress thought people would assume she was credible or “really smart” after the ordeal.

“But my team were like, ‘no this is not good! We’re furious that they’re saying this about you,’” she added.

Kudrow initially couldn’t leverage her success like the other six stars despite being the first from the group to win an Emmy

Image credits: Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images

Interestingly, Kudrow was the first of the six main cast members of Friends to win an Emmy and was nominated more times than the others.

Yet, she was apparently not drowning in offers and couldn’t leverage her success like the remaining stars.

“There was no vision for me, and no expectations about the kind of career I could have. There was just, like, ‘boy is she lucky she got on that show,’” she said.

Kudrow said the lack of expectations let her explore other projects she genuinely cared about, like the minor role she played in the 1996 Albert Brooks comedy Mother.

She also fondly remembered the 1997 indie film Clockwatchers that told the story of a bunch of female friends working in side-by-side office cubicles.

The star has been promoting the third and final season of The Comeback, in which she plays her Emmy-nominated role of Valerie Cherish

Image credits: HBO

The shift in her career came after the 1999 comedy film Analyze This with Robert De Niro, she noted.

“That’s when the agents and business people started circling, wanting to put me in romantic comedies and things.” she continued. “I knew that wasn’t gonna work. I’m just not adorable!”

Kudrow has been promoting the third and final season of The Comeback, in which she plays her Emmy-nominated role of Valerie Cherish.

This would be the last time playing the role of the washed-up but still pushing on actress.

“The most respectful thing we can do for the audience and for the character is make it a three-part story,” she added. “It’s a trilogy, and this is the end.”

“I only watched for Phoebe,” one commented, while another wrote, “Why is she saying this? That show made her rich [and] famous”