The legendary sitcom Friends ended 20 years ago, but the revenue earned by its cast is still beyond imagination. Lisa Kudrow, who was loved for her role as Phoebe Buffay, surprised fans worldwide by revealing the amount of residuals from reruns.
Lisa Kudrow (62) recently mentioned in an interview with The Times the rerun revenues the Friends cast receive each year. She said that the six main actors, including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and the late Matthew Perry, along with Lisa Kudrow, still each receive royalties of about $20 million a year (about 2.9468 billion won).
They made headlines at the time for starting at $22,500 per episode in season 1 and receiving a staggering $1 million per episode (about 130 million won) in the final season. Although they each received $2.5 million for the 2021 reunion special, the steady annual rerun revenue that comes in like a pension is a unique figure even in Hollywood.
In the interview, Lisa Kudrow also became emotional remembering her colleague Matthew Perry, who died in October 2023.
She said, "After Matthew left, I watched the show for the first time. Previously I could only see faults in my acting, but for the first time I truly realized how great this work was," noting, "Whoever among us does anything in the future will never have that experience again. There was 'genius' there."
She especially expressed respect for her colleagues, adding, "Jennifer and Courteney were amazing, David and Matt made me laugh like crazy. And Matthew, he was someone who surpassed all of us," adding a touch of affection.
She also talked about the hardships hidden behind the glamorous revenue. Lisa Kudrow admitted that during Friends' heyday she was consumed by the thought that she did not receive as much attention as the other members.
She said, "No one paid attention to me. The agency just called me 'the sixth friend,'" revealing that when other colleagues were cast in big movies there was no vision or expectation for her. She said she was regarded merely as "the lucky one who happened to be on that show."
But Lisa Kudrow proved herself with talent. She was the first among the 1998 cast to win an Emmy (supporting actress in comedy), gaining recognition for her acting, and later built a solid career by receiving critical acclaim for HBO's The Comeback, which she produced and starred in. She is currently set to return with a new season of The Comeback.
[Photo] Lisa Kudrow SNS
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