Lisa Kudrow: The Best Friend

Q: Was he protective?

A: At dinner he looked at us like we were all his children and said, "This is the last time you'll be able to go out together to a place like this."

Q: Was he right?

A: Yes.

Q: What would happen if you all hit Spago tonight?

A: Somehow autograph people and photographers would show up. A couple of weeks ago me and Courteney [Cox] and Jennifer [Aniston] went out to lunch. As we were leaving the restaurant we saw cameramen outside. Soon after in the National Enquirer there was this story about how Courteney and Jennifer had a baby shower for me. It was the three of us just having lunch, but now since I'm showing I guess it became a baby shower. Funny how that works.

Q: Where's the strangest place you've ever been recognized?

A: At night in a hotel Jacuzzi by an older woman and her husband. She said, "Oh, you're that one! You're on that show!" Then they got it wrong and said, "Do that Alley Cat song!" instead of "Smelly Cat."

Q: Meanwhile, you're half naked, boiling in water. Have you ever been starstruck yourself?

A: Oh yeah. Shirley MacLaine stopped by the set of The Opposite of Sex and said, "You're so funny" then gave me a hug. Everything went white. I couldn't hear. I couldn't see. I thought I was going to pass out because it was too good to be true. She moved in close to me and said, "You know, the wonderful thing about you and what you do is ..." Then she said nothing. She just paused for about 20 seconds, so help me God. Just as it was about to come out, someone walked up to her and said, "Hello Shirley!" And she turned and talked to them.

Q: She never told you?

A: No, and I didn't know how to get it out of her. But that's OK. She asked me to be in a movie she's directing, but the character needs to have a really great body and stuff and I'm not right for it right now with the pregnancy.

Q: Let's talk about your husband, Michel Stem. You two met just before Friends took off. That must have been an interesting journey for him.

A: Yeah, but he's such a good brain. He's really honest and kind, and if he doesn't like something he tells me in a delicate way. When he does like something, then I know he really likes it. It's grounding.

Q: What's the coolest thing about having a French husband?

A: Everything he says is a sweet nothing. It all comes out romantic because he'll throw in a "mon amour" at the end. He hardly ever says my name, just when he's mad. So if I hear "Lisa," I get nervous.

Q: What's something he wears that turns you on?

A: He can wear a ratty T-shirt, but it falls just right on his body. And walking shorts and a sweatshirt over his shoulders. No one wears a sweatshirt over their shoulders like he does. Oh my God.

Q: Weren't you friends with Conan O'Brien before the both of you got famous?

A: Yeah. A long time ago we did a sketch showcase thing at the Celebrity Center theater at the Church of Scientology. When we were rehearsing I'd see huge rats the size of dogs running across the rafters. Other than that, it wasn't very creepy there. The [Scientologists] weren't fierce proselytizers, and they let us use the space for free.

Q: You also did improv comedy with the Groundlings. What suggestions from the audience would you just dread?

A: It's always annoying when someone yells, "Proctologist!" It's like, All right, so you'll see me look up someone's ass one time, you'll laugh, and that's the end of the fabulous joke you supplied. Then when the director would ask the audience for an emotion they'd always shout, "Lusty!" That one always bugged me. I don't know why.

Q: Would it make you nervous if you had a friend in the audience?

A: Once I had a date come to the show. I hadn't had a date in a long time and the director yelled to the audience, "Tonight's kind of special because Lisa finally has a date, so let's give her a hand." Awful. My date must have been thinking, "What a loser."

Q: Well, did you do well?

A: No, so to top it off he must have been thinking, "Not only is she a loser, but she's a no-talent."

Q: You studied biology at Vassar for four years. What did you learn that has stayed with you?

A: The scientific method was a really important thing to learn because you're not allowed to judge your results, you have to just accept them for what they are even if they're not what you want. It was also great to learn the laws of nature, because I wasn't sure if I believed in God, but I did believe in an order of nature, a structured chaos. What's going to happen is what's going to happen and just let go. Give it up to a higher power that you can't control.

Q: You seem pretty smart. Would you ever go on a celebrity episode of Jeopardy!?

A: [Laughs] That's stress, not fun. I think they lighten the course load on Jeopardy! when it's celebrity week. They ask less things about the Mesopotamian civilization and more about things like TV. "Three prime-time networks have been around longer than the fourth one."

Q: Do you have any future film projects lined up? What about I Dream of Jeannie?

A: No, none. I feel so guilty. I read a script and hope it's going to suck so I won't feel badly about saying, "You know what? I'm busy having my baby."

Q: Do you have a favorite blonde joke?

A: There are two in a row that I love. Ready? What's the mating call of a blonde?

Q: I don't know.

A: "I'm so drunk." What's the mating call of an ugly, ugly blonde?

Q: I don't know.

A: "I said, 'I'm so drunk.'"

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Dennis Hensley interviewed Mimi Rogers for the April '98 issue of Movieline.

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