One of our favourite weddings to take place on Friends was the marriage between Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) and Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd).
So to think that their nuptials may have never been, is casually quite devastating.
Now, one of the co-creators of the sitcom David Crane, has revealed that Phoebe very nearly ended up with none other than Hank Azaria’s character, David.
During an interview with RadioTimes, Crane admitted there was “a possibility of that” and along with Marta Kauffmann, they “didn’t definitively know” who she would end up with.
“They’re both amazing actors. I mean, both Paul and Hank are fantastic, and fantastic with her. We sort of went back and forth,” he admitted.
David a.k.a “The Scientist Guy”, was a recurring character from the beginning of the series, however, after he left for a three-year research trip to Minsk in Russia, the fictional characters parted ways.
Seasons later, Phoebe met Mike and their romance blossomed with David returning to try and win her back. In an episode that took place in Barbados, she declined and in the “The One with Phoebe’s Wedding”, she became Mrs Hannigan.
Phew!
“I don’t even remember all the pieces that led to where we landed, but yeah, it could have gone the other way,” Crane said of the nuptials, before saying that “Phoebe would have been great with either one.”
Kudrow’s Phoebe was a fan-favourite (as they all were) and in 1998, she won an Emmy for the role.
During an interview with Kevin Nealon on his YouTube series, Hiking with Kevin, Kudrow revealed that she “struggled” playing Phoebe in the first few years as “it wasn’t really me”.
“I feel like, ‘sh*t, I tricked them in the audition.’ I was the only one who could cope with the audition process and that’s how I got it, I think. So I had to work hard at being Phoebe,” she said.
But after a chat with co-star Matt LeBlanc (Joey), who told her she was “working too hard”.
“You don’t need to work this hard,” he said. “‘Relax.’ He was right.”
