Some things are just meant to be. Just like some actors are meant to play a certain role, and the best example would be Lisa Kudrow playing Phoebe Buffay in ‘Friends’ and Peri Gilpin playing Roz Doyle in ‘Frasier’. However, this might not have been the case.
Lisa Kudrow recently revealed that she was mistakenly cast as the lead in ‘Frasier’ and even fired later on. Kudrow revealed the story on a podcast. One year before being cast as Phoebe, Kudrow landed the role of Roz Doyle. But it did not go as planned.
Lisa Kudrow Reflects On Being Fired From ‘Frasier’
On her latest appearance on the SmartLess podcast, Lisa Kudrow revealed that before filming the pilot episode, she was dropped from the role. Kudrow said, “I didn’t film it. I got fired from Frasier.” She described this as “devastating”. Kudrow told co-hosts Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman, and Will Arnett that director James Burrows told her during the episode’s run-through, “This isn’t working.”
However, Kudrow did not want to let go that easily so she said, “I was trying to like [ask], ‘What can I do?’” but, “they did make a casting mistake because I went to the network with Peri Gilpin”. She further explained, “I think they were just correcting a mistake. Cause Peri should have always been Roz.” Kudrow did land a small role in ‘Mad About You’.
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Lisa Kudrow Was The Only Member Who Auditioned For ‘Friends’
Although the 61-year-old actress impressed producers in her small role, she had to give an audition for Phoebe Buffay in ‘Friends’. Kudrow revealed on the podcast that she was asked back for five more episodes. This led to her being cast in ‘Friends’. But, she was “the only cast member” who had to audition for Burrows as she “had just gotten fired from Frasier”.
Kudrow told the hosts: “When I had my audition, I did it… it was just this small room. He is sitting at a desk. I’m in a chair, and the audition was like a little monologue.” Kudrow continued, “And when I’m done, he just went, ‘No notes.’ And I thought, ‘Alright. I don’t know what that means. It’s hopeless.‘” However, as things are meant to be, she went on to play Phoebe for 10 seasons even winning an Emmy for the role in 2008.
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