'Friends' star Lisa Kudrow found it hard to play Phoebe Buffay until Matt LeBlanc told her one thing
Playing the fun and goofy character of Phoebe Buffay in the fan-favorite sitcom 'Friends' wasn't a piece of cake for the talented actress Lisa Kudrow. Back in the day, Lisa struggled to completely embody the beloved part. According to Bustle, during the third season of the show, Matt LeBlanc who essayed the character of Joey Tribbiani helped out his co-star Lisa by offering her some sage wisdom as she faced difficulty in enacting the role. While making an appearance in an episode of Kevin Nealon's YouTube series, 'Hiking With Kevin', Lisa revealed that her fellow cast member Matt came to her rescue at that time.
In an exclusive clip from the episode, Kevin asked Lisa if she had ever portrayed a character like Phoebe Buffay in the past. In her response, Lisa said, "This is a really good question. I had played dumb girls, sure, but it wasn’t really me." We are pretty sure some of you might not agree with Lisa's description of Phoebe. In Episode 12 of Season 6, Phoebe even referred to herself as "flaky" but she was smart in her own way. Phoebe always followed her heart, stood her ground, and had a great sense of humor.
Nevertheless, it seems like Lisa didn't intentionally negatively paint her character Phoebe. She was simply trying to explain how tough it was for her to play the character of Phoebe at one point. Lisa and her onscreen character Phoebe were like poles apart. "I feel like, 'Sh*t, I tricked 'em at the audition. I was the only one who could cope with the audition process and that’s how I got it,' I think. So I had to work hard at being Phoebe. And then, like, third season in, I was struggling so much," she added. During the same interview, the Emmy-winning actress also shed light on how her co-star Matt LeBlanc noticed a change in her behavior on the set. She continued, "LeBlanc was like, 'What's going on with you?' And I said, 'I can't, I don't think I have it. I don't know what I'm doing.'" Then, Matt gave Lisa a valuable piece of advice which helped her a lot. "He went, 'You're her. Relax. You got it. You’ve been doing this f*ck*ng character for three years. You’re working too hard. That’s your problem. You don’t need to work as hard. Relax,'" she explained. In the end, Lisa shared her co-star was right.
While chatting with Kevin, Lisa also dropped a truth bombshell. Then, she revealed that she had never watched her own show 'Friends.' However, this wasn't the first time that Phoebe shared this piece of information. In a May interview with Entertainment Tonight, Lisa said, "I don't watch it if it's on. I might not like myself [on the show], so I'd rather not risk that." Without a single doubt, Lisa managed to bring Phoebe's character to life in an effortless manner. We must say, 'Friends' wouldn't have been the same without Phoebe Buffay.