Lisa Kudrow is gearing up to deliver a TV character like no others in her successful career thus far, as she’ll be leading a roving band of time-traveling thieves for the upcoming Apple TV+ series remake of Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits. Of course, no matter how many TV shows or movies she takes part in, a certain part of the population will always see her as Friends’ most left-of-center regular Phoebe. And it’s not just everyday fans, but A-listers as well.
Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! opposite this week’s guest host Anthony Anderson, Kudrow was immediately asked about still answering to her Friends character name despite the fact that two decades have passed since one of the best sitcoms ever closed down the Central Perk for the last time. After her initial “OMG” seemingly made it clear that the mistake is not a rare occurrence, the actress shared a fun story involving The Lost City and Bullet Train’s Sandra Bullock. As Kudrow put it:
Oh my God. Wait, I just love this. I was at a party, a big party, and I was talking to Sandra Bullock. That's name-dropping; I have to, but it's true. And we were talking, and she's like, 'Well, I guess you'll just have to talk to yourself, Phoebe,' about something. And she called me Phoebe. [Laughs.]
Lisa Kudrow beamed the entire time she was telling the story, implying she was downright tickled by the fact that a fellow Hollywood mainstay slipped and failed to use her real name. At this point, I'm pretty sure I would have called Bullock by the name Annie, in reference to her character in Speed, one of my all-time favorite action movies. And then I would have pitched some kind of buddy comedy with Phoebe and Annie. And then somebody would have been like, "Why is this guy here?"
As for the actual conversation, the Friends vet said she didn't have to say anything, and that Bullock clocked the mistake as it happened. In her words:
She caught herself. She went, 'What did I just do?' I don't know!
I'm sure there are times when being called by the wrong name can be annoying, with a lot depending on the person making the mistake. But I'm willing to bet that Sandra Bullock ranks low on the list of annoyances in any respect.
Lisa Kudrow also addressed another element of her Friends past recently when reflecting on her allegedly negative reactions to studio audience laughter. The actress said her issue was only when those present at the episode tapings were too overzealous and laughed so long that they stepped on other jokes and follow-up dialogue.
Check out Kudrow telling her Bullock story below!
Most Friends fans won’t ever need to worry about differentiating between the actors’ names and their character monikers, but everyone can share the enjoyment of streaming the NBC classic with a Max subscription, which is also where fans can stream both seasons of her cringe classic The Comeback.
And don’t forget to check out Lisa Kudrow in a brand new role when Time Bandits debuts for streamers with Apple TV+ subscriptions on Wednesday, July 24. And given that the movie is among the best time travel movies out there, there’s nothing wrong with rewatching that ahead of time.
