Friends star Lisa Kudrow revealed the one fan request she always turns down while reflecting on the show’s success in a new interview.
The 63-year-old actress, who famously played Phoebe Buffay, appeared in all ten seasons of the NBC sitcom from 1994 to 2004.
Co-starring with Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston starred in the series, which followed six best friends living in New York City, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and the late Matthew Perry.
Kudrow said she has “zero complaints about Friends or anything related to it” during her performance Fresh Air with Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley this week.
But she admitted she does have one fan-related “exception.”
Kudrow told the hosts that she doesn’t mind when fans ask her to repeat specific Phoebe lines or even call her by the character’s name.
However, she does not like it when she is asked to sing the favorite Phoebe jingle Smelly Cat.
Friends star Lisa Kudrow revealed in a new interview the one fan request she always turns down while reflecting on the show’s success; seen on August 16
The 63-year-old actress, who famously played Phoebe Buffay, appeared in all ten seasons of the NBC sitcom from 1994 to 2004.
“Sometimes people stop me and say, ‘Oh, sing Smelly Cat.’ I don’t want to do that. “I really don’t want to do that,” she said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Kudrow talked about how much she enjoyed creating “every part” of Friends and the bonds she built with her co-stars that have lasted decades.
“Just the relationship with the other actors, we had fun. That is so rare. And really honest respect, mutual respect.’
Kudrow admitted that she and her co-stars had to consistently do “work” on their friendships while filming together.
“It was a very good relationship that took some work, and we did the work. It was great. Everything was great.’
Kudrow said she and her co-stars “made sure” to bond and even played poker together during their breaks on set.
Kudrow’s interview comes just over a week after she revealed that she initially auditioned for the role of Rachel Green, which ultimately went to Aniston.
Kudrow felt rejected when she was told she “wouldn’t work as a romantic interest,” even though she wanted to play the role of “Jewish American Princess.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter from earlier this month, Kudrow opened up about the moment she lost the role.
While appearing on the radio show Fresh Air this week with Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley, Kudrow shared that she has “zero complaints about Friends or anything related to it.”
She said she doesn’t like being asked by fans to sing Smelly Cat for them and says no when she hears that request; seen in 1995 Friends TV still
Elsewhere in the interview, Kudrow talked about how much she enjoyed creating “every part” of Friends and the bonds she built with her co-stars that have lasted decades; seen in March
Kudrow admitted that she and her co-stars consistently had to do “work” on their friendships while filming together
‘Idiot that I am, I said, “Oh, but you know what? I have to say: Rachel is Jewish. And boy, I love playing a Jewish-American princess. I think I can make that really funny.”‘
She said she “wasn’t even clocking that ‘Oh no, this is the romantic lead to Ross.’ Right? I told my agents, “I can do Jewish American Princess and make it really funny.”
“And so they said, ‘Uh-huh. Okay. Well, we’ll tell [the show’s creators].”‘
Kudrow said casting agents later told her she was “not gorgeous” and was not right for the role.
‘They said, ‘No, no. It’s so hard for them to find Phoebe. They don’t mess with that.’ So that was the sweet way of saying, “Yes, you’re not the romantic interest.”
The actress admitted that at the time she “didn’t look like women who were cast as regulars on sitcoms.”
She recalled that casting agents at one point bluntly told her she was “not gorgeous.”
