Tom Selleck Reveals Matthew Perry Used to Help Him With His Lines on 'Friends': 'He Was Raw Talent'

Tom Selleck famously played the handsome ophthalmologist Richard Burke — Monica's older love interest — on Friends.

Despite already being a well established actor at the time, the Magnum P.I. star revealed in a recent interview that he occasionally went to costar Matthew Perry for help with his lines.

"We had this role reversal thing going, where [Richard] tried to be like them, and them like me," Selleck recalled of Richard's relationship with the characters Chandler and Joey.

However, Selleck admitted he struggled with one specific line — "Could that shot be any prettier?"

"Matthew had this speech pattern that I hadn’t been aware of," the 79-year-old explained of the late sitcom star. "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."

As for the rest of his experience on the popular comedy, Selleck gushed that everybody "couldn't have been nicer" to him — but he had a special bond with Perry.

"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," he said. "I got to know his father when I was a young struggling actor. Almost any commercial or pilot I went out on, there was John. We became real good friends."

The Blue Bloods actor also praised Perry for his "raw talent."

"Matthew’s gone, so it’s easy to say this, but it’s true," he continued. "I think he was the most talented of a very talented group of people."

As OK! previously reported, Perry was found unresponsive in his hot tub at his L.A. home on October 28, 2023, and was unable to be revived. His cause of death was later determined to be due to the acute effects of ketamine with drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine listed as contributing factors.

"We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family," the cast of Friends wrote in a joint statement after his passing. "There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss."

"In time we will say more, as and when we are able," the statement read. "For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world."

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Selleck spoke with USA Today about his relationship with Perry.