It's impossible for me to imagine a world in which Lisa Kudrow doesn't play Phoebe Buffay on Friends. Hell, even the actress' friends still refer to her as "Phoebe." So it's wild to think there could've been a reality in which she never had the role. Strangely enough, it took losing a big part on Frasier and signing on for Mad About You for her to get the big break that solidified her legacy within the history of primetime TV.
Lisa Kudrow was recently a guest on the Smartless podcast, where she revealed that she was originally part of the cast of Frasier (which is currently available to stream with a Hulu subscription). The series originally cast her to play Frasier Crane's producer Roz, another iconic TV role that ultimately went to actress Perri Gilpin. Kudrow's comments about losing the gig suggest that she has no ill will about what went down, based on her agreeing that Gilpin should've earned it:
I was trying to like [question], ‘What can I do?’ But I think they did make a casting mistake because I went to the network with Perri Gilpin. I think they were just correcting a mistake. Cause Perri should have always been Roz.
Based on the fact the Frasier revival will see Gilpin to return for more episodes amid Season 2, I'd say the show made the right call. That's based on the fact that the producers would want the fan-favorite actress to reprise her role decades later. This decision, however, left Lisa Kudrow without what would've been a massive gig, and she subsequently had to look for work where she could find it.
Fortunately, an opportunity arrived via Mad About You, as the casting directors were looking for an actress to do a five-episode guest role titled "Waitress." The Comeback actress talked about returning to the series after a previous guest spot, and how her agent advised against it:
I did a guest star on Mad About You, they had me back, I’d already done a guest star the first season. So now I’m there for a different character and my agent said, ‘You’re not doing this.'
Lisa Kudrow went ahead and nabbed the roles anyway, mainly because it was the best show offer she'd received, and she wasn't in a position to say no. The role led to more appearances, and a connection that might've helped Kudrow ultimately land her iconic Friends role.
Lisa Kudrow said the iconic opening theme wasn't as fun to film as it seemed.
Mad About You producer Jeffrey Klarik ultimately suggested Lisa Kudrow for the role of Phoebe to Friends creator David Crane and, after an audition, the job was hers. Ironically enough, her audition was held in front of director James Burrows, the same person who requested she be fired from Frasier after seeing her as Roz on the pilot.
The rest is TV history, and fans now know Phoebe for playing a big role on some of the most ridiculous episodes of Friends and some of the sweeter ones as well. For years, Lisa Kudrow couldn't watch her own episodes but has slowly been rewatching the sitcom after the untimely passing of her former co-star Matthew Perry. While the reasons for her watching now are sad, it's good to hear she can watch her performances, considering the wild ride it took for her to land that career-changing role. My head is still spinning over the thought of a world in which she might've never landed the job, and I'm glad everything worked out as it did!
Friends is available to stream with a Max subscription and, even now, the classic show makes for a great watch whenever you have downtime. Throw on an episode or two while looking at what else is coming down the pipeline on the 2024 TV schedule.
