Matthew Perry's FRIENDS Co-star Tom Selleck Recalls Their Friendship On Set: He Was Raw Talent

Matthew Perry's sudden passing in October of 2023 shocked the industry. Perry, best remembered for his role of Chandler Bing in FRIENDS, was 54. Recently, actor Tom Selleck opened up regarding the friendship he shared with the actor, also reflecting on the latter's acting talent.

Tom Selleck remembers Matthew Perry

Tom Selleck had joined the cast of FRIENDS during its second season. The actor struck up a friendship with Matthew Perry's father John Bennett Perry which by proxy led to a friendship with the late actor. Selleck recalled how he and Perry enjoyed daily catch ups during his time filming for the sitcom.

Praising Matthew's acting talent, Selleck said, "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." Further reflecting on how close the core cast of FRIENDS was, Selleck added, "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."

When Tom Selleck had to imitate Chandler Bing

Tom Selleck was required to imitate Chandler Bing for an episode on season two of FRIENDS, titled The One Where Old Yeller Dies. Selleck essayed the character of Richard Burke who in the episode in question, was attempting to be more like Joey and Chandler while the other two were attempting to be more like Burke.

Speaking about the same, Selleck shared, "We had this role reversal thing going, where (Richard) tried to be like them, and them like me...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.' That was his signature."