Tom Selleck Reflects on ‘Talented’ Matthew Perry and Shares Surprise Over Chandler’s Iconic Catchphrase
Tom Selleck not only considered Matthew Perry a friend but was also a fan of the late actor’s work.
In a recent interview with USA Today, Selleck, 79, reminisced about his time working with Perry on Friends. This was his first public comment about Perry since the actor’s sudden death at 54 in October.
Selleck reflected on a memorable scene from an early episode of the iconic sitcom, where his character, ophthalmologist Richard Burke, was dating Monica (Courteney Cox). In the scene, Selleck’s character engaged in a playful exchange with Chandler Bing (Perry) and Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), leading to a humorous role reversal.
“We had this role reversal thing going,” Selleck explained, noting that he tried to mimic Chandler and Joey while they tried to emulate his character. “Matthew had this speech pattern that I hadn’t been aware of,” Selleck continued, referring to Perry’s distinctive sarcastic delivery that made Chandler’s lines memorable. Selleck admitted it took him some time to perfect the delivery, with Perry patiently assisting him.
“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,” Selleck recalled, adding that this unique delivery was Perry’s signature style. The Blue Bloods star praised Perry’s raw talent, remarking, “Matthew was the most talented of a very talented group of people.”
Selleck also fondly remembered his time on Friends, attributing the show’s warm atmosphere to the camaraderie among the cast and his pre-existing friendship with Perry’s father, John Bennett Perry, which helped form his bond with Matthew Perry.
“I’d known John since I was a young struggling actor. We became real good friends,” Selleck said. He often inquired about John Perry’s well-being whenever he saw Matthew, with whom he always enjoyed catching up.
Selleck appeared in 10 episodes of the show between seasons 2 and 6, making his final appearance as Dr. Richard Burke in the episode where Chandler and Monica get engaged. Reflecting on the cast, which included Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, and David Schwimmer, Selleck praised the harmonious environment on set, noting, “Everybody couldn’t have been nicer to me.”
“There are no bad stories,” he continued. “You’d sit down to get notes on rehearsal, and it was fascinating. Courteney would be sitting on somebody’s lap and then someone else’s the next time. 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.”
Following Perry’s death, an autopsy report released on December 15 confirmed that Perry died due to acute effects of ketamine. Contributing factors included drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine effects, a medication used for opioid use disorder. The death was ruled accidental.
