Tom Selleck is the latest Friends cast member to look back on his time with late co-star Matthew Perry.
Photo: Courtesy of NBC
Tom Selleck, who famously played the role of Richard Burke, Monica’s former love interest on the hit series Friends recently remembered some of his most cherished memories with Matthew Perry. Selleck spoke to USA Today about Perry, who passed away in October 2023, and recalled a particular incident while filming the season two episode, ‘The One Where Old Yeller Dies’.
The episode featured a scene where Perry’s character, Chandler, tried to grow a mustache like Selleck’s signature one. “(Perry) walked onto the set, and that brought the house down,” said Selleck of the scene when Joey and Chandler walked out impersonating his character. “We had this role reversal thing going, where [Richard] tried to be like them [Chandler and Joey], and them like me,” said Selleck. The Magnum P.I. star went on to remember how he in turn had difficulty nailing Perry’s signature, which is his famed sarcastic delivery. The line Selleck needed to say was: “Could that shot be any prettier?” Speaking about the delivery, Perry said, “Matthew had this speech pattern that I hadn’t been aware of. Matt told me: ‘It’s a joke, Tom. It’s the way he says it.’ But during that whole show, I kept going up to him asking, ‘Can you say it again?’ and he’d do the line. That was his signature.”
Selleck also shared how his friendship with Perry’s father helped him break the ice on set. “Everybody couldn’t have been nicer to me,” he said. “But every day I’d see Matthew, and I’d ask him, ‘How’s your father?’ And he’d always smile and we’d catch up. I got to know his father when I was a young struggling actor. Almost any commercial or pilot I went out on, there was John. We became real good friends.” Speaking of Perry’s acting skills, Selleck added, “He was raw talent. Matthew’s gone, so it’s easy to say this, but it’s true. I think he was the most talented of a very talented group of people.”
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