Lisa Kudrow was wary of leaving Mad About You for the then-unknown Friends, so was keen to “preserve” her role if possible.
Lisa Kudrow wasn’t convinced Friends would be a hit so wanted to “preserve” another role just in case it was cancelled.
The 62-year-old actress played Phoebe Buffay for 10 years on the beloved comedy series, but when she was first cast in the role, she had a recurring role as a sarcastic and indifferent waitress in NBC’s already-established comedy series, and so approached the chance of appearing in Friends with caution in case it put her stability at risk.
She told Vanity Fair magazine: “I was really proud to be able to have a role on Mad About You.
“Honestly, when I shot the pilot of Friends, I thought, ‘Yeah, I mean, this is a good show. But good shows don’t get picked up all the time.’
“Thank God for Mad About You, which was my favourite show on TV. I mean, I thought that was such a great show. It was a quality multi-camera show…
“If there’s any hope of me being able to stay on Mad About You, after the [Friends] pilot doesn’t get picked up or they pick it up for, you know, 12 more episodes, and then that’s it… like after this fails, because there’s no telling what’s gonna happen, something can be great, and still, it gets cancelled, I’d still have Mad About You.
“I was preserving Mad About You for myself.”
But after Lisa was cast in Friends – which debuted in 1994 and also starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and the late Matthew Perry – NBC bosses had a dilemma as to how to explain away the fact the same actress would be appearing in two primetime shows as different characters.
And so the actress was delighted when her Mad About You character, Ursula Buffay, was introduced as Phoebe’s twin sister, adding depth to her back story.
She said: “Friends found that they had to justify why this same face and voice is gonna be on at 8:00 p.m. on Mad About You once in a while, and then there she is at 8:30 p.m. on Friends.
“They had to cope with that. And incorporate Ursula into Friends.
“I was thrilled, you know, that I could still be Ursula.”
Lisa recently admitted she has been catching up on old episodes of Friends but it “too embarrassed” to watch it in front of her husband Michael Stern.
Asked what sitcoms she watches, she said on BBC Radio 2: “Friends at night before going to bed.
“I haven’t seen a lot of episodes. I sit in the family room, and I wait until my husband goes to sleep because I’m too embarrassed for anyone to see me watching it – but I’ll tell all of you!
“He knows that I like watching it.”
Lisa Kudrow wanted to ‘preserve’ Mad About You role in case Friends flopped
