The “Friends” star claims there was “no vision” for the future of her career.

Lisa Kudrow says she was called ‘the sixth Friend’: ‘Nobody cared about me’

The "Friends" star claims there was "no vision" for the future of her career.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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April 6, 2026 12:48 p.m. ET

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Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay on 'Friends'. Credit:

Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

*Friends* may have been a massive success, but that doesn't mean its impact was immediate. At least not for Lisa Kudrow.

The *Friends* star, who spent 10 seasons as the quirky and unconventional Phoebe Buffay, recently admitted to feeling overlooked as a member of the ensemble cast. While reflecting on the experience to *The Independent* in a Saturday interview, Kudrow said that though the show became a massive hit during its second season, she didn't notice any tangible change in her career prospects.

"Nobody cared about me," she told the outlet. "There were certain parts of [my talent agency] that just referred to me as 'the sixth Friend.'"

She continued, "There was no vision for me, and no expectations about the kind of career I could have."

Instead, Kudrow recalled praise going to the show itself with little regard for her contributions. "There was just, like, ‘*boy, is she lucky she got on that show.'"*

The cast of 'Friends' in 1994.

Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

That was by no means the universal experience: as *Friends* has persisted, plenty of people now consider Phoebe one of the show's standouts. This was also true during the sitcom's run. As it grew in popularity, Kudrow ultimately became the first Friend to win an Emmy, snagging Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1998.

As for her career, the show's consistency allowed her the freedom to take on a variety of roles — including the Albert Brooks-helmed comedy *Mother*, 1997’s *Clockwatchers,* and the 1999 crime-comedy *Analyze This*. The latter title, which saw her share the screen with Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, prompted "the agents and business people started circling, wanting to put me in romantic comedies and things."

But the success of *Friends* did present one challenge for Kudrow's career. After NBC agreed to pay the cast members a then-unprecedented $1 million an episode, a narrative emerged that Kudrow was the one who urged her cast members to negotiate as a collective rather than as individuals.

"I absolutely was not the ringleader," Kudrow said. "And that was reported, and it wasn’t true. My team were very angry about that. It was leaked sort of as a warning to other clients like, 'don’t do something like that.'"

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At the time, Kudrow figured the rumors would be a positive for her. "Like, 'hey, people will think I’m really smart!'" she recalled. "But my team were like, 'No, this is *not* good! We’re furious that they’re saying this about you.'"

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In the end, *Friends* was a career-defining project for Kudrow and her costars, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and the late Matthew Perry.

In 2024, Kudrow said as much, telling *Today* that the sitcom's success opened the door for her to pursue various passion projects.

"Because I was on *Friends*, I got to create my own shows that didn't have to be as big as *Friends*," she explained. "So I could do something like *The Comeback* or *Web Therapy*, and that was really fulfilling."

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Sitcom”