Lisa Kudrow cemented her place as one of the core six in the eyes of Friends fans, but the actress wasn’t always the frontrunner for the role of Phoebe Buffay. Phoebe was introduced to the majority of the group when she became the roommate of Monica Geller. She quickly grew to become a close friend of Monica, Ross, Rachel, Chandler, and Joey. When she wasn’t busy with her career as a masseuse, Phoebe spent her time playing her guitar and performing songs at Central Perk.
The character’s childhood and past were extremely complex but it made for amusing storylines like how she unknowingly robbed Ross when he was a kid. Phoebe had a few key romances throughout Friends’ decade-long run. She ended up with Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd) after Joey randomly set them up on a blind date. The duo wound up getting married outside of Central Perk in the middle of a blizzard in what became one of the best endings for a character on the show.
It’s hard to think of anyone else in the role of Phoebe other than Kudrow. That was also the case since the producers’ first choice for Phoebe was Ellen DeGeneres, but the comedian turned down the role to star in her own NBC series. A number of other actresses auditioned, including Kathy Griffin, Jane Lynch, and Megan Mullally - all of whom went on to have successful acting careers. But it was Kudrow’s past work, specifically the character of Ursula Buffay, that helped her acquire the gig on Friends.
How Mad About You Helped Lisa Kudrow Win The Role Of Phoebe Buffay
Before she joined Friends, Kudrow portrayed Ursula Buffay, the waitress at Riff’s on NBC’s Mad About You. The producers enjoyed her performance as a recurring character and they wanted to give her a starring role in a new sitcom. To further connect the characters, they made Phoebe the more comical twin sister of Ursula. Kudrow was still able to play Ursula on Mad About You while working on Friends. In addition, Friends welcomed Ursula to its series so Kudrow could play both parts as two sisters with a complicated relationship.
Mad About You ended in 1999 but Friends ran for another five years. Kudrow’s role as Ursula opened many doors for Friends and Phoebe’s character development. It’s no question that the other actresses that were under consideration would have brought their unique personalities to the table but the show’s creators surely had no regrets with hiring Kudrow. It also didn’t hurt that she won several prestigious awards for her performance on the beloved series.
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