“Tom Selleck Requested Line Readings from Matthew Perry on ‘Friends’ to Enhance His Comedy: ‘He Was the Most Talented’ in the Cast”
Tom Selleck recently shared with USA Today that he turned to Matthew Perry for help with line readings while filming an episode of Friends during its second season. Selleck, who played Richard Burke—a charming ophthalmologist and Monica’s older love interest—had a hard time mastering the sarcastic delivery that Perry’s character Chandler was known for. In one scene, Richard attempts to mimic Chandler’s style, leading Selleck to struggle with a line about Richard’s football skills, delivered in Chandler’s trademark sarcastic manner: “Could that shot be any prettier?”
Selleck admitted he wasn’t familiar with Perry’s unique delivery and frequently asked Perry to demonstrate how to deliver the line. “Matthew had this speech pattern that I hadn’t been aware of,” Selleck explained. “Matt told me, ‘It’s a joke, Tom. It’s the way he says it.’ I kept going up to him asking, ‘Can you say it again?’ and he’d do the line. That was his signature.”
Selleck also noted that his long-standing friendship with Perry’s father, actor John Bennett Perry, helped him bond with Matthew on set. “Everybody couldn’t have been nicer to me,” Selleck said. “But every day I’d see Matthew, and I’d ask him, ‘How’s your father?’ We’d always smile and catch up. I got to know his father when I was a young, struggling actor. John was always around for auditions and commercials, and we became real good friends.”
Reflecting on Perry’s impact, Selleck added, “[Perry] walked onto the set, and that brought the house down. He was raw talent. Matthew’s gone, so it’s easy to say this now, but it’s true. I think he was the most talented of a very talented group of people.”
