Lisa Kudrow talks being seen as '6th Friend' on 'Friends'
Lisa Kudrow talks being seen as '6th Friend' on 'Friends'
MASON LEIBMon, April 6, 2026 at 5:25 PM UTC
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Lisa Kudrow talks being seen as '6th Friend' on 'Friends'
Lisa Kudrow is opening up about playing Phoebe Buffay on the beloved sitcom "Friends."
In an interview with The Independent published Saturday, Kudrow discussed her experience in the early days of "the show," recalling how she was referred to by some as the "sixth Friend."
"Nobody cared about me [early on]," Kudrow said with a laugh, according to the outlet.
She added, "There were certain parts of [my talent agency] that just referred to me as 'the sixth Friend.'"
Kudrow said she sensed uncertainty regarding her future beyond the show.
Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images - PHOTO: David Schwimmer, as Ross Geller, and Lisa Kudrow, as Phoebe Buffay, in a scene from "Friends."
"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 starred as Phoebe for the entirety of the series' 10-season run, from 1994 to 2004.
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The show has continued to skyrocket in popularity through the years, as viewers across the world take interest in the friend group, which also included Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer.
Kudrow won an Emmy for her role in 1998.
The actress also spoke to the Independent about her own early skepticism around the show becoming popular, saying most of her castmates seemed optimistic.
"I was the odd one out. I thought... 'Maybe? I mean, it's a good show, but I don’t know about that,'" she said. "But I'm just that kind of person."
Kudrow is currently promoting the third season of her show "The Comeback" which aired initially in 2005 and then returned for a second season nine years later in 2014, returning again for a six-episode third season last month.
The show follows Kudrow as a former star attempting to revive her career and ascend to celebrity again.
Kudrow also recently appeared in the series "Time Bandits," a fantasy show co-created by Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Taika Waititi, and "No Good Deed" alongside Ray Romano, Linda Cardellini and Luke Wilson.
She starred last year in the comedy-horror film "The Parenting" alongside Nik Dodani, Brandon Flynn, Parker Posey, Vivian Bang, Dean Norris, Brian Cox and Edie Falco.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
