Lisa Kudrow clarifies biggest misconception about her 'Friends' character

Lisa Kudrow is fiercely protective of her Friends character, Phoebe Buffay.

Speaking to Interview Magazine for an article published March 30, the Emmy-winning actress pushed back against the misconception that Phoebe was “stupid.”

“At the time, it was like, ‘She’s such a ditz. How is it that you only play ditzes?’ And I thought, ‘Is she a ditz?’ To me, she wasn’t,” Kudrow, 62, said.

She recalled that during the show’s peak, the public reaction to Phoebe was, “I love her. She’s such a ditz.” Kudrow noted, “That was what a ditz was to us. Someone who wasn’t toeing the line.”

The Comeback star admitted that it took some time for her to fully understand Phoebe. “At first, Phoebe was very, very far from me. It took a lot of work to justify the things she would say and do. Not in an irritating way — it was fun. Over the course of 10 years, a little bit of her came into me. I lightened up a little more and read some books on spirituality and things, just to try and understand her.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Kudrow reflected on her inclination towards playing “delusional” characters: “It must be a part of who I am. To me, the funniest thing is someone who has no idea that they’re operating in an alternative reality.”