Lisa Kudrow missed out on sitcom roles because she was 'not gorgeous' enough
Friends star Lisa Kudrow played Phoebe Buffay on the iconic sitcom, but she had got used to rejections for "series regulars" on other comedies at the time.
Lisa Kudrow missed out on sitcom roles because she was "not gorgeous" enough.
The 63-year-old Friends legend, who played Phoebe Buffay on the beloved comedy from 1994 to 2004, has insisted she understood getting snubbed for certain roles when casting directors wanted to go in a different direction.
She told The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast: "I didn’t look like women who were getting cast as series regulars on sitcoms.
"They still wanted a certain look — very pretty and appealing and all of that — and not that funny, right, except for Shelley Long…
"I was told, ‘It’s very hard because you’re not gorgeous, and they want gorgeous.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay’…
"I don’t think that’s ridiculous. I got it. Also, it’s not just how you look; it’s how you act, too. I’m not ‘cute.’ And God, I didn’t want to be cute.”
Lisa recalled trying to push for the role of Rachel Green in Friends before Jennifer Aniston landed the role.
She explained: “Idiot that I am, I went, ‘Oh, but you know what? I got to say, Rachel is Jewish. And boy, I love doing a Jewish American Princess. I think I could make that really funny.’
"Not even clocking that, ‘Oh no, this is the romantic lead to Ross.’ Right? I told my agents, ‘I can do Jewish American Princess and make that really funny.’
"And so they said, ‘Uh-huh. All right. Well, we’ll tell them [the show’s creators].'"
Lisa revealed how her team told her she was set to play Phoebe instead, and admitted she thought there were other reasons.
She added: "They [later] went, ‘No, no. It’s so hard for them to find Phoebe. They’re not messing with that.’
"So that was the sweet way of saying, ‘Yeah, you are not the romantic interest.'”
