They were friends leading busy lives.
Lisa Kudrow, best known for playing Phoebe Buffay in the hit sitcom “Friends,” revealed that she and the rest of the cast met up only once between the series finale and the 2021 “Friends: The Reunion” special.
“We’d only had dinner, the six of us, once before since the show ended,” Kudrow said during a recent episode of Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s “Dinner’s on Me” podcast.
“The Comeback” star said that when the cast of the hit NBC comedy show reunited years later, it felt like no time had passed between them.
“Just us at someone’s house and [we] had dinner, and like, didn’t miss a beat,” Kudrow said.
“Friends” aired on NBC in the 1990s and spanned 10 seasons from 1994-2004. It followed a group of friends in their mid-20s going through life lessons, family, love, drama and friendship. The show starred Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing), Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), Courteney Cox Arquette (Monica Geller), Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani) and David Schwimmer (Ross Geller).
In August 2022, Kudrow admitted that she used to compare herself to Cox and Aniston while filming the show.
“Seeing myself on the show and seeing myself in clothes and seeing Courtney and Jennifer, I thought, ‘Oh, they know tailoring so they can discuss it with the costume designer about where exactly to take it in,’” she told “Podcrushed” hosts Penn Badgley, Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari.
“I’m not trying to say I was overweight,” she continued. “I was not. I just had no idea of the actual shape of my body.”
In October, Kudrow paid tribute to Teri Garr, who played her mother, Phoebe Abbott, on the show. Garr died at the age of 79 in Los Angeles after a long battle with multiple sclerosis.
“Teri Garr was a comedic acting genius who was and is a huge influence on me, and I know I’m not alone in that,” Kudrow told People. “I feel so lucky and grateful I got to work with Teri Garr.”
Perry passed away on Oct. 23, 2023, from a ketamine overdose. Five people were arrested in connection with the late actor’s death and were accused of taking advantage of Perry’s addiction.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just castmates. We are a family,” the “Friends” stars wrote in a joint statement at the time. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”
In her own way of honoring her late friend, Kudrow has rewatched episodes of the show.
“Honestly, I wasn’t able to watch it because it’s too embarrassing to watch yourself,” the actress told the Hollywood Reporter. “But if I make it about Matthew, then that’s OK. And it’s just celebrating how hilarious he was — and that is what I want to remember [about him].”
Twenty years after the show ended, the actress said she was “laughing out loud” while watching “Friends.”
“Everyone is hilarious. I’m blown away by Courteney Cox. I’m blown away by Jen [Aniston]. Matthew, obviously, is just uniquely hilarious. No one ever knew that cadence or comedic rhythm before him. Matt LeBlanc is hilarious. And David Schwimmer, too. Sometimes I even laugh at what I’ve done,” Kudrow said.
“So yeah, I mean, that’s my own little way of celebrating [the anniversaries], just watching it,” she went on. “But it’s embarrassing. At home, if anyone walks in the room and I’m watching ‘Friends,’ that’s a horrible look, I think, don’t you?”
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