Every comedian delivers their jokes differently. Lisa Kudrow is deliberately halting and at times absurd—but people love her for it. Just ask any of the 10 million viewers who religiously watched her play Phoebe Buffay on Friends for a decade. Even the late Matthew Perry, known for his own sharp wit and impeccable comedic timing, said that Kudrow was one of the funniest people he’d ever worked with. From her time on Friends—and let’s not forget her roles in the cult favorite Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion and The Comeback—to her latest project, starring alongside Ray Romano in Netflix’s new sitcom No Good Deed, Kudrow continues to assert her comedic talent. To celebrate the release of the series, Kudrow shares her least favorite things. —Carolina de Armas
least favorite James Bond: Were any of them bad?
Preferred deadly sin: Gluttony, I guess, is the easiest to prefer because it’s hard for me to have just a couple of bites of the foods I shouldn’t eat (macaroni and cheese, chocolate-chip cookies).
Food that makes you gag: Oysters.
Book you never finished: Organic-chemistry textbook.
Film you walked out of: It happened once that I can remember … Doctor Zhivago. I was five years old.
Song you never want to hear again: I don’t have a lot of “never again”s with songs, but right now it’s “Jingle Bells.”
Character from history you most dislike: There are too many to choose from! But how do you not say Adolf Hitler?
Item of clothing you would never wear:
A thong.
Worst form of transport: A crowded anything has always been tough for me since childhood. But I didn’t like a nighttime sleigh ride. It’s freezing-cold, open-air bumpiness.
Preferred form of revenge: Oh, I do think bad actions catch up to you, so is that Karma? I don’t think revenge is necessary.
Favorite curse word: F-word. I’ve tried to give it up, but I can’t. My dog gets very concerned when I say it. She immediately stares at me, then comes over to see if I’m O.K.
Least favorite habit (in you): F-word.
Least favorite habit (in others): F-word. I wish people could have more self-control!
Least favorite apology: “Sorry, but I … ”
Least favorite conversational topic:
Politics.
Least favorite present you’ve received: If it’s wrapped, it’s thrilling.
Worst New York City moment: There’s a lot to choose from … A rude Wall Street guy in a bar that I wanted to deck.
Person you’d least like to share a lifeboat with: That’s easy: a bossy idiot.
Words you’d hate to have spoken behind your back: Ha! I imagine it’s all been said, but the worst to me would be “How sad.”
Thing you said but wish you hadn’t: I accused a good college friend of stealing my pants. I wasn’t angry, and I didn’t care about it much, so I couldn’t see why my accusation was such a big deal, but it truly hurt her. It really damaged our friendship. I still feel bad about that.
Thing you didn’t say but wish you had: “You didn’t steal my pants. I must have lost them.”
Worst advice you’ve ever gotten: A show I created and played the lead character on was canceled after the first season (The Comeback). The unsolicited advice I got afterwards: “Sure, write it, produce it, but you shouldn’t have starred in it.” I thought that was bad advice for me to keep in mind moving forward.
Worst advice you’ve ever given: When I was younger, I had a lot of bad advice. In college I’m sure I told people, “If you like smoking, smoke.”
Last words before execution: “O.K. then.”
Lisa’s Inessentials
