Friends saw its main characters dating a variety of people before finding their “lobsters” and settling down, but the plan for one of Phoebe’s boyfriends, David (Hank Azaria), was originally very different, and it would have ruined Phoebe’s perfect ending. Although Friends came to an end long ago, it continues to be widely regarded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time and its fanbase keeps growing, in big part thanks to the series’ arrival in the world of streaming, which has introduced the show to younger generations.
Set in New York City, Friends follows the lives of a group of six young adults who do their best every day to juggle their social, personal, and professional lives while also dealing with everything adulthood constantly threw at them. Friends lived on for a total of 10 seasons, through which viewers saw Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, Joey, Rachel, and Ross grow and mature in different aspects of their lives, always with a good dose of humor and with the support of their friends. The series mostly focused on the personal lives of the main characters, and many of them spent most of the show looking for the right person, as happened with Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), who dated a variety of men, but only two truly won her over.
The first of Phoebe’s boyfriends to be introduced in Friends was David (or “David the Scientist Guy”), who made his first appearance in season 1, but he didn’t stay for long. In that same episode, and just as they started dating, David and his friend and fellow scientist, Max, were granted a trip to Minsk for research for three years, and so he left a heartbroken Phoebe. David briefly returned in Friends season 7 and later in season 9 after his research in Minsk was over, and while there was a plan for him when he returned, it would have ruined Phoebe’s perfect ending.
Why Phoebe's Ending Had To Be With Mike, Not David
Speaking to The Huffington Post in 2016, Hank Azaria was asked about his role in Friends and what happened with David and Phoebe, revealing that they were supposed to end up together. Azaria shared that he didn’t know that David going to Minsk would be the end of the character and his relationship with Phoebe, and that “the plan always was kind of bring him back”. The reason why that plan changed seems to have been Paul Rudd himself, who joined Friends to play Mike Hannigan, the man who ended up becoming Phoebe’s husband. Azaria explained that he thinks what happened was that “Paul Rudd is so awesome that they sort of found a groove with him”, and so David became “just the grist of that mill”, and admitted that it “did sting a little bit” that David didn’t end up with Phoebe, but admitted that Mike proved he “was comedically deserving of Phoebe’s love”.
Mike and Phoebe met after Joey set them up on a blind date without even knowing Mike, but that turned out to be the best decision. Phoebe found in Mike the family that she never had as she grew up in a broken home, and Mike definitely matched her vibe and comedic style, and their chemistry (as well as that between Rudd and Kudrow) is undeniable. While David wasn’t a bad man, Phoebe’s energy and sense of humor matched those of Mike perfectly, and in the end, what Phoebe needed was stability, which she could have in Mike but couldn’t with David. Luckily, the Phoebe/David arc in Friends was given proper closure when he and Mike competed for Phoebe’s affection, and she realized that the one for her was none other than Mike – and she was right.