Tom Selleck looks back fondly on his Friends days with the late Matthew Perry.
Selleck, who plays Monica Geller's recurring love interest Richard Burke on the sitcom, revealed to USA Today that Perry helped him with his lines while filming the second season episode.
The episode, titled "Where Old Yeller Dies," originally aired in 1996, featured Selleck's older character trying to get between Chandler (Perry) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc). Regain your youth with the help of
"We did a role reversal, [Richard] was trying to be like them, and they were like me," Selleck recalled, adding that he had trouble delivering one of Chandler's classic lines ("That shot Can it be any shot?") prettier? ").
"Matthew had a speech pattern that I wasn't aware of," Selleck continued. "Matt told me: 'That's a joke, Tom.' That's what he said. But throughout the show, I kept coming up to him and asking, 'Can you say that again?' "He can line up. That's his signature."
"He was a raw genius"
Selleck also recalled how his friendship with Perry's father helped him connect with the late "Friends" star.
"Every day I would see Matthew and I would ask him, 'How is your dad?' and he would always smile and we would catch up," Selleck told USA Today , adding that Perry was filming Friends " When I walked into the set, the whole house collapsed."
"He was a natural talent. Matthew has passed away, so it's easy to say that, but it's the truth," he continued. "I think he's the most talented of a group of very talented people."
Perry died on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54. Several "Friends" cast members and guest stars reacted shortly after news of his death broke, including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and LeBron.
In a joint statement released via People magazine at the time, the actors said they were "completely devastated" and would "take some time to grieve and process this immeasurable loss."
