Ray Romano and Lisa Kudrow couldn’t be more excited to work together for the first time on the new Netflix series No good deed.
“She refused every time I tried (to work with her),” joked Romano, 66, while speaking exclusively with Us Weekly for the series, which hits Netflix on Thursday, December 12. “We have never met. We had never met. The first time we met was at the reading table.
Kudrow, 61, exclusively said us that she’s been “dying” to work with Romano “for years,” stating, “I was going to see him and stuff after that (Everyone loves Raymond) and said, “Oh my God, he’s such a good actor. It is effortless. Oh my god I would love to work with him. I bet that will never happen.
When No good deed came her way, Kudrow jumped at the chance to star alongside Romano. “I said, ‘OK. I don’t even know if I should read the script because it’s a yes. that’s it Liz Feldman. Ray is my husband in this,” she gushed.
Amy Sussman/WireImage Lisa Kudrow seeks to set the record straight. After her “Friends” co-star Jennifer Aniston recently claimed that Kudrow, 60, “hates” it when the show’s live audience laughs during filming, Kudrow clarified her true feelings to Entertainment Tonight. “No, it’s not exactly like that…no, no. It annoyed me if they laughed too long” (…)
Romano noted that he booked the show before Kudrow, saying it felt like a “bonus” when friends alum joined the cast.
The couple participated No good deed as Paul and Lydia Morgan, a married couple who secretly observe the colorful characters interested in buying their Los Angeles home without their knowledge. As buyers show interest in the house, Paul and Lydia are forced to hide some dark family secrets.
For his part, Romano said us he was excited to “play stuff I’ve never played before” as he was a fan of Feldman’s other hit Netflix series, Dead to me. “I knew the tone he was trying to set. It was just a nice challenge and attractive and yes, it was kind of an easy decision,” he shared.
Lisa Kudrow as Lydia and Ray Romano as Paul
Saeed Adyani/NetflixRomano found himself addicted to the “five scripts” he read before meeting Feldman, 47, but Kudrow joked that she was “concerned” about how her character connected to the larger story after reading three episodes . “(I) felt like, ‘Well, OK. But what happened? What’s my role in this?”’ she recalls.
It all paid off in the end, as Romano stated that the feeling of “concern” is exactly “what you want the audience to feel.”
Friends premiered on NBC in September 1994, introducing viewers to six characters who would quickly become fans’ lifelong friends. The sitcom, which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004, became a multi-generational hit. Creators David Crane and Martha Kaufman managed to bring everyday life in New York to the masses through (…)
Feldman was inspired by late-night searches on the real estate website Zillow while creating the series, something Kudrow said she was also guilty of. “I always am. I get alerts all the time,” she quipped. “I don’t want to buy anything.”
As Ray leaves the Zillow scrolling to his wife, Anna RomanoKudrow said us she likes to imagine the story behind the houses she spots online. “Once there was a knife at the door when I went to visit a house, and (I) thought, ‘Well, now why?’ What horrible things have happened to people for having a knife?” she shared. “Unless it’s some superstition.”
Lisa Kudrow as Lydia and Ray Romano as Paul
NetflixWithout spoiling the show’s twists and turns, Ray and Kudrow revealed that they were each able to connect with their characters in a personal way. “My character has a hard time expressing himself and keeps things a little closed off,” noted Ray. “So I tapped into that pretty easily. He does things that maybe I wouldn’t, and he probably has more anger issues than I do, but it’s all there. It’s all there somewhere.”
Kudrow said she “always brings something of herself to everything,” but Feldman was able to note that Lydia’s character was “relatable” to her. “I just said, ‘Yes.’ But I don’t want to know what it is,” she said.
No good deed premieres on Netflix Thursday, December 12.
With reporting by Cristina Garibaldi
