However, it may come as a surprise to many that the show’s producers deeply regret creating a particular episode that caused Lisa Kudrow to go through an uncomfortable shooting process. Can you imagine the actress who played the most eccentric character Phoebe Buffay feeling uneasy? Well, it did happen and it turned out to be quite challenging for the beloved star.
Lisa Kudrow hated shooting this episode on Friends
In 2019, the executive producers of Friends Kevin Bright, David Crane, and Marta Kauffman sat down with Entertainment Weekly to celebrate 25 years of their show. During the conversation, they opened up about the episode they regretted making. According to them, filming the episode titled “The One with the Jam”, in which guest star Arquette’s character Malcolm mistakes Phoebe for her twin sister Ursula and begins stalking her, was difficult.
“Lisa did really not have a good time doing them. She did not like acting with a double, and in a way, she might have made it more difficult for herself because her double was her actual sister,” remarked Bright.
The American star was worried about the pressure she was putting on her sibling which made shooting scenes between Phoebe and Ursula trickier than anyone imagined, the producer added.
How Phoebe and Ursula’s twin moments were shot?
In Friends, Ursula’s character on Friends appears in most scenes with Phoebe. However, since Lisa Kudrow does not have a twin, the production team used some tricks to make it seem like there were two characters on screen. Sometimes they used the split-screen technique and other times, Lisa Kudrow played both parts, but for the scenes to appear real, her older sister, Helene Marla Kudrow, would play the opposite character.
Whenever Phoebe and Ursula had scenes together, the shot would include Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe facing the camera and her double with her back to the camera, or vice versa. Kudrow would act the scene as each part, and then the takes would be edited together. This provided the illusion that Phoebe and her twin were together in the shot.
Although Kudrow had to endure awkwardness and discomfort, it did not translate to the final product, and Phoebe and Ursula’s joint Friends scenes served their purpose. And even If they felt uneasy, it was because the on-screen twins’ relationship was just like that: Phoebe and Ursula had a strained relationship at best. Luckily for Lisa Kudrow, Friends did not include Phoebe’s twin that much, so she only had to go through that process several times.
Friends is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
