Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She rose to international fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the American television sitcom Friends, which aired from 1994 to 2004. The series earned her Primetime Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, Satellite, American Comedy, and TV Guide awards.
Why did Lisa Kudrow want to leave Friends?
She was having problems connecting to the character and almost decided to leave. “I had played dumb girls, sure, but it wasn’t really me,” said Kudrow.
FRIENDS turns 26 this year, and it still remains one of the most successful and memorable shows of all time. A big part of that is the chemistry between all six actors on the show, on-screen and off it as well. This special connection and off-screen friendship helped Lisa Kudrow overcome a difficult point in her career, thanks to Matt LeBlanc.
“And I said, ‘I can’t, I don’t think I have it, I mean, I don’t know what I’m doing’. And he went, ‘You’re here, relax, you got it. You’ve been doing this f***ing character for three years. You’re working too hard. That’s your problem. You don’t need to work this hard. Relax.’ And he was right.”