The cast of Friends’ real-life bond outside of the show is often attributed to their on-screen chemistry.
But in a new interview with Dax Shephard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Lisa Kudrow has admitted this wasn’t something that always came easily.
Lisa said that she and Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and the late Matthew Perry “worked hard at being friends”, but noted that it was a “six-way relationship” that “took some work”.
“If someone said something or did something, it didn’t get too big because it was, ‘Can I talk to you?’,” she explained, recalling how she and her co-stars would “really talk things through” whenever there were disagreements.
But she also said this was something she initially struggled with, confessing it was “usually not me” who would broach difficult subjects as she wasn’t used to such open communication.
“I never knew that was allowed,” she added, but noted how Jennifer, Courteney and Matt each gave her a really good example of what “respectful communication” could be like.
During the interview, Lisa also reflected on Matthew Perry’s death in October 2023.
“This will sound odd. I’m more comforted that he was happy the day he died,” she said. “He got to die happy. And to me, that was a gift.”
Over the summer, Lisa shared how her co-star’s death had changed her attitude towards Friends in the past year.
She also referenced the Friends cast’s bond with one another when she initially paid tribute to Matthew in November 2023.
“Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached, and tears poured down my face EVERY DAY,” she wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for your open heart in a six-way relationship that required compromise.”
Lisa added: “Thank you for showing up at work when you weren’t well and then, being completely brilliant. Thank you for the best 10 years a person gets to have.
“Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for all I learned about GRACE and LOVE through knowing you. Thank you for the time I got to have with you, Matthew.”