'Friends' star Lisa Kudrow reveals one particular request she always turns down

Lisa Kudrow, who famously played Phoebe Buffay in sitcom Friends, says she's never singing her character's famous song, Smelly Cat in public.

Kudrow, 63, explained during a recent podcast interview that while she's happy to reflect on the time she played Phoebe and doesn't mind repeating some of her character's lines, she prefers not to perform the song itself, even when fans ask.

"Sometimes people will stop me and say, 'Oh, sing Smelly Cat,'" Lisa said on a recent episode of the Fresh Air with Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley podcast. "I don't want to do that. I really don't want to do that."

The actress also reflected fondly on her overall experience working on Friends. "We had fun. That is so rare. And real honest respect, mutual respect. It was a really good relationship," she said of working with Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and late costar Matthew Perry.

"That took some work, and we did the work. It was great," she added.

Kudrow also recently shared that she initially auditioned for the role of Rachel before Jennifer Aniston was cast in the part. 

She recalled expressing interest in playing the character with a specific comedic approach, without initially realising the role was meant to be the show's central romantic lead. 

"Idiot that I am, I went, 'Oh, but you know what? I got to say, Rachel is Jewish. And boy, I love doing a Jewish American Princess. I think I could make that really funny,'" she explained on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast.

She later learned she was being considered for Phoebe instead, which she eventually understood as a sign she wasn't being considered for more traditionally romantic roles at the time.

She added, "They [later] went, 'No, no. It’s so hard for them to find Phoebe. They’re not messing with that.' So that was the sweet way of saying, 'Yeah, you are not the romantic interest.'"

Kudrow also spoke candidly about facing typecasting earlier in her career, sharing that she was even sometimes told she was "not gorgeous" or fit the traditional look networks wanted for other lead sitcom roles.

She said she came to accept that casting decisions often depended on more than just acting skills.

"I don’t think that’s ridiculous. I got it. Also, it’s not just how you look; it’s how you act, too. I’m not 'cute.' And God, I didn’t want to be cute," she admitted.