Summary

  • Lisa Kudrow's real-life sister played her double for Ursula scenes on Friends, using split-screen or by shooting both parts separately and editing them together.
  • Kudrow did not enjoy filming scenes with both characters and found it tricky to shoot, but the awkwardness did not translate to the final product.
  • Ursula Buffay originated on the show Mad About You, and her existence on Friends was a crossover created because Kudrow was already recurring on both shows.

Given that Lisa Kudrow played twins Phoebe and Ursula Buffay on Friends, leaving some questions as to how the sitcom filmed those scenes. Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, Friends followed six young adults in New York City doing their best to navigate through adulthood while juggling their social, professional, and personal lives. Kudrow was the first Friends cast member to win an Emmy for her role as the quirky Phoebe, but she also showed her versatility in playing her cold and aloof twin sister Ursula.

Like the rest of Phoebe's family members, Ursula didn’t appear on Friends often, and when she did, she was rude to Phoebe and often cut their conversations short. However, the two shared the screen often throughout the series. With Kudrow taking on both roles, the production crew used some good old TV magic and enlisted the help of Kudrow's real-life sister, Helene Marla Kudrow, to film believable joint scenes between Phoebe and her twin.

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Lisa Kudrow’s Sister Was Her Double For Ursula Scenes On Friends

Phoebe and Ursula on Friends

Most of Ursula's scenes on Friends were opposite Phoebe, but since Lisa Kudrow is not a twin, the production team had to use some tricks to sell the idea. In some cases, the production used a split-screen method. Other times, Lisa Kudrow shot both parts, but for the interaction to be believable, she had a double play the opposite character.

Whenever Phoebe and Ursula had scenes together, the shot would include Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe facing the camera and her double with her back to the camera, or vice versa. Kudrow would act the scene as each part, and then the takes would be edited together. This provided the illusion that Phoebe and her twin were together in the shot. Lisa Kudrow’s double was her older sister, Helene Marla Kudrow, who was similar enough in height and build to be a believable double.

In an interview with EW in 2019, Friends director Kevin S. Bright revealed that Kudrow did not enjoy filming scenes with Phoebe and Ursula on Friends:

"Lisa really did not have a good time doing them. She did not like acting with a double, and in a way she might have made it more difficult for herself because her double was her actual sister, [Helena]. I think feeling the [stress] she put her sister into by being the double was more in her head at the time, so those scenes were a little bit tricky to shoot. But it ended up being a lot of fun when you put it together."

That awkwardness and discomfort did not translate to the final product though, and Phoebe and Ursula’s joint Friends scenes served their purpose. If they were ever awkward, it was because the on-screen twins’ relationship was just like that: Phoebe and Ursula had a strained relationship at best. Luckily for Lisa Kudrow, Friends did not include Phoebe’s twin that much, so she only had to go through that process a couple of times.

Where To Watch Friends

Phoebe's Twin Ursula Originated On Mad About You

Phoebe stands across from her twin Ursula

Given the trouble that went into filming these scenes, there is some question as to why Phoebe had a twin on Friends in the first place. Since Ursula’s cameos were rather few and far between, Phoebe’s character was not necessarily defined by her being a twin. The story behind Ursula’s existence is actually connected to another '90s sitcom, Mad About You.

Ursula Buffay was created for Mad About You, which aired on NBC from 1992 to 1999. When Lisa Kudrow was later cast as Phoebe in 1994, she was still active on Mad About You, so the Friends creators thought it would be an interesting crossover to have Phoebe and Ursula exist in the same universe since both lived in New York City and were played by the same actor. It just so happened that Friends aired right after Mad About You and Kurdrow how this led to the creation of Ursula as Phoebe's twin:

“I auditioned for Friends, because I was available. I was only a recurring role on Mad About You. And I got it both on NBC. And that’s why I liked Friends. I also was going to go to the network for a show that was on Fox, and I went ’no, no, definitely the NBC show.’ And everyone seems to love it. So, that’s great. And you know, the script, and then I can still do Mad About You. Because that was my goal–was protecting Mad About You.

So, I’ve been already a recurring character on Mad About You. Then they named Ursula and I do Friends and it gets picked up and after it got picked up and they also put us on right after Mad About You. And I don’t know who spoke with who, because they were different studios, but it was decided that I still get to be a recurring character on Mad About You. And then Friends needs to address the fact that the exact same human being is on a half hour later sometimes. So I think that’s how it happened. I don’t know what the discussions were with Marta, David, and the Mad About You people.”

While the decision didn't suggest a lot of confidence in the audience to understand that this was an actor playing two separate roles, it did allow for a fun addition to Friends.

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Ursula Differences In Friends And Mad About You

Mad About You Ursula the waitress was cast to play Phoebe Buffay on Friends

Ursula Buffay was portrayed, quite simply, as Phoebe's evil twin on Friends — but her character is much different on Mad About You. In the latter series, Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie Buchanon (Helen Hunt) are a young couple living in New York City. They often hung out at a place known as "Riff's Bar," and Ursula was a rather spacey waitress there who soon became a minor character throughout the show's run. This connection essentially made Friends and Mad About You exist within the same universe. Kudrow mentions that she saw Ursula in the latter series as a rather two-dimensional character, but at least she was nice and held no ill intentions.

The twin character on Friends was tweaked to meet narrative needs, and she almost always appeared as an antagonist, such as when she used Phoebe's name while working in the porn industry or sold her sister's birth certificate to a Swedish runaway. Nonetheless, the character of Ursula brought a lot to the table in both Friends and Mad About You, even if they were actively different people.

  • Friends TV Series Poster
    Friends
    Cast:
    Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer
    Release Date:
    1994-09-22
    Seasons:
    10
    Genres:
    Comedy, Drama, Sitcom
    Writers:
    David Crane, Marta Kauffman
    Story By:
    Marta Kauffman
    Network:
    NBC
    Franchise(s):
    Friends
    Directors:
    David Crane, Marta Kauffman
    Showrunner:
    Marta Kauffman
    Season List:
    Friends - Season 1, Friends - Season 2, Friends - Season 3, Friends - Season 4, Friends - Season 5, Friends - Season 6, Friends - Season 7, Friends - Season 8, Friends - Season 9, Friends - Season 10