Tom Selleck, a notable guest star on “Friends” as Monica’s boyfriend, Dr. Richard Burke, says late series star Matthew Perry was “a raw talent” when they worked together on the long-running NBC sitcom.
“Matthew’s gone, so it’s easy to say this, but it’s true,” Selleck, 79, told USA Today. “I think he was the most talented of a very talented group of people.”
On the series, Selleck’s opthalmologist Dr. Richard Burke struck up a relationship with the much-younger Monica (Courteney Cox) and developed a bro bond with Chandler (Perry) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc).
Selleck said that Perry, who died Oct. 28 at the age of 54, and the rest of the cast were very welcoming to the former “Magnum, P.I.” star who now headlines “Blue Bloods,” entering its 14th and final season on CBS.
Selleck said that his friendship with Perry’s father, actor John Bennett Perry, helped him enter into the “Friends” family, which included co-stars Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow.
“Everybody couldn’t have been nicer to me,” Selleck told USA Today. “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,” he said. “Almost any commercial or [series] pilot I went out on, there was John. We became real good friends.”
Selleck revealed that he and Matthew Perry had a bit of a situation because Selleck had trouble mastering one of Perry’s lines delivered in his trademark ‘question mark’ fashion.
The line, delivered by Perry, was “Could that shot be any prettier?”
“Matthew had this speech pattern that I hadn’t been aware of,” Selleck recalled. “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, who was only supposed to guest-star in three episodes of Season 2 of “Friends,” appeared as the cigar enthusiast Richard in nine episodes.
Richard and Monica broke up in Season 3 because the older doctor wouldn’t commit to having children.
Perry’s body was found Oct. 28 in the hot tub at his home in LA.
His death was attributed to the acute effects of ketamine and drowning.
Selleck was invited to the private memorial service in LA, according to USA Today, but was unable to attend since he was shooting the final season of “Blue Bloods” in New York City.
Read more about Matthew Perry’s life and struggles
- ‘I had a 2 percent chance to live’: Matthew Perry opens up about addiction in new memoir
- Matthew Perry: I ‘was so dead inside’ during ‘Friends’ finale, I ‘felt nothing’
- Matthew Perry reveals what made him quit drugs: ‘It was pretty hellish’
- Matthew Perry reveals ‘Friends’ co-stars confronted him about sobriety
- Matthew Perry admits he ‘probably spent $9 million’ trying to get sober
“There are no bad stories,” he said of the “Friends” cast. “They all just got along.
“I think it’s because all these actors had failures on other shows. And now they’re in this hit.
“They all realized how lucky they were.”