Friends star Lisa Kudrow has shared an iconic scene from the sitcom that made her tear up on a recent rewatch. Kudrow starred for 10 seasons as Phoebe Buffay on Friends.
Kudrow has been re-watching Friends of late, and revealed on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast Dinner’s On Me that Phoebe’s wedding was particularly touching. The 2004 Friends episode “The One with Phoebe’s Wedding” revolved around Phoebe and husband-to-be Mike Hannigan braving the worst blizzard on their big day. Phoebe and Mike managed to overcome the storm, as well as Monica Geller’s overbearing wedding planning, to finally become husband and wife in a poignant climax to the episode.
“When Phoebe got married, and she’s walking down the aisle and has this huge smile on her face, I teared up because she was so happy,” Kudrow revealed in her podcast interview. “She was so just, like, honestly happy, and it was just — I don’t know. It was really touching to me. Like, she deserves to be this happy.”
“It was really touching to me. Like, she deserves to be this happy.”
Lisa Kudrow Auditioned for Friends With Phoebe’s Tragic Backstory
Lisa Kudrow Has Revealed That Phoebe’s Monologue From the Friends Pilot Was Her Audition Scene
Kudrow also reflected on the wedding being so poignant because of Phoebe’s tragic backstory of being abandoned by her father and her adopted mother dying at a young age. “She [later] lived in a car with a guy who overdosed,” Kudrow added, before explaining: “To me, what would be funny about [that tragic life] would be a person who just treats it all like, ‘It’s not just me! You can’t take it personally’ to everybody.”
Kudrow had the difficult task of auditioning for Friends with a scene explaining Phoebe’s tragic backstory. “I had just done a couple of recurring moments on Mad About You [before the audition] and the thrill for me was one of the actors walked in [to the audition] and said [disappointedly], ‘Oh, great, you’re here. Perfect.’… Seeing all of these actors, and all of them had more experience than me, coming out of this audition… they’re coming out and going, one by one, ‘That was f––ked’… That was my training and it was so perfect,” she said.
Friends Had Eight Notable Weddings Throughout Its Run
Kudrow has often mentioned she didn’t watch Friends when it aired, so there were crucial episodes that she’d never seen. The actress decided to start re-watching Friends earlier this year as a tribute to her late co-star Matthew Perry. “Honestly, I wasn’t able to watch it because it’s too embarrassing to watch yourself,” she told THR in July. “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].” Matthew Perry died in October 2023 from the acute effects of ketamine use, leading to tributes from his Friends co-stars. Kudrow acknowledged in her Dinner’s On Me interview that there’s “a certain amount of anxiety around watching” Friends because she’s “afraid of what [her] takeaway is going to be”.
Earlier this year, Kudrow paid tribute to Teri Garr, who played Phoebe’s biological mother Phoebe Abbott in multiple episodes of Friends. Garr passed away from complications from multiple sclerosis at 79 years old in October. “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 said in a statement to People. “I feel so lucky and grateful I got to work with Teri Garr.”
Friends Episode ‘The One with Phoebe’s Wedding’ Aired Months Before the Series Finale
‘The One with Phoebe’s Wedding’ aired on February 12, 2004 as the 12th episode of the 10th and final season of Paul Rudd.
Future Marvel star Paul Rudd reprised his role as Phoebe’s partner Mike Hannigan after recurring in Friends throughout its final season.
There were eight major weddings throughout Friends’ ten seasons, including Ross’s doomed destination wedding with Emily where he accidentally inserted Rachel’s name into his vows.
Chandler and Monica tied the knot in season seven’s two-parter ‘The One with Monica and Chandler’s Wedding’, which featured Gary Oldman, Kathleen Turner and Elliott Gould as guest stars.
Friends: The Complete Series is available to stream now on Max.
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