Iconic Friends actress Lisa Kudrow has opened up about her fan-favorite character, Phoebe Buffay, and how she was often misunderstood.
In a candid discussion with actress Lily Tomlin for Interview Magazine, Kudrow addressed the misconception that Phoebe was “stupid” or a “ditz.”
“At the time, it was like, ‘She’s such a ditz. How is it that you only play ditzes?’ And I thought, Is she a ditz? To me, she wasn’t,” Kudrow explained. When asked who labeled Phoebe a ditz, she didn’t single anyone out, noting, “Everybody. In 1994, it was like, ‘I love her. She’s such a ditz.’”
Kudrow clarified that while Phoebe’s behavior was unconventional, it was far from foolish. “It’s like, yeah, okay, that was what a ditz was to us. Someone who was not toeing the line,” she said.
She also shared that initially, connecting with Phoebe’s quirky personality was a challenge. “At first, Phoebe was very, very far from me,” Kudrow admitted. “It took a lot of work to justify the things she would say and do. Not in an irritating way—it was fun.”
Over the decade-long run of Friends, Kudrow said she gradually incorporated aspects of Phoebe into her own life. “Over the course of 10 years, a little bit of her came into me. I lightened up a little more and read some books on spirituality and things, just to try to understand her,” she said.
Through her reflections, Kudrow offered fans a deeper understanding of Phoebe Buffay, showing that beneath her eccentric exterior was a clever and thoughtful character that went far beyond the “ditz” label.
