Paul Rudd says he felt 'like a prop' on 'Friends'

• Paul Rudd said that he "felt like a prop" during his time starring as Mike Hannigan during the last two seasons of "Friends."
• In a conversation with Chris Evans for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series, Rudd said he "was only in it for just a blip" and it was "an interesting thing to be a part of."
• "I felt, 'I'm like a prop on this show. It's not about Mike Hannigan,'" he said.

Paul Rudd says that he "felt like a prop" while playing Mike Hannigan on NBC's hit sitcom "Friends."

"In something like 'Friends,' the show was about them, but it's an interesting thing to be a part of," Rudd, who joined the series during the penultimate season, said during a conversation with Chris Evans for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series.

"I was only in it for just a blip," the 51-year-old actor said. I felt, 'I'm like a prop on this show. It's not about Mike Hannigan.' But there's a very interesting feeling to be a part of something that has that kind of profound impact on pop culture."

Rudd made his "Friends" debut as Phoebe Buffay's (Lisa Kudrow) love interest on season nine, episode three titled "The One With the Pediatrician."

During the episode, Phoebe and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) agreed to set each other up on a blind double date. Joey forgot to hold up his end of the bargain and scrambled to find a partner for Phoebe, so he lied and told her that she'd be meeting a guy named Mike. Joey then called out for anyone named Mike at Central Perk and was surprised when Rudd's character happened to be there.

Phoebe and Mike end up hitting things off and they got married during the 10th and final season of "Friends."

Rudd previously spoke about his experience as a secondary character on "Friends" during an appearance on "The Graham Norton Show" in October 2019.

The actor said that "it was an incredible thing to be part of and the whole experience, but seems a bit surreal and a bit of a blur in my memory."

He also recalled feeling a bit awkward being on set while filming the series finale and seeing the main cast members overcome with emotions having starred on the series for 10 seasons, unlike him.

"The show was a phenomenon and I was in the very last episode, which made no sense to me whatsoever," Rudd said. "I was on the sound stage and Jennifer Aniston was crying and I thought, 'I'm not supposed to be here,' so to break the ice I went over and said, 'Well, we did it, what a ride.'

"The joke inevitably fell flat!" he added.

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