It’s been nearly two decades since Tom Selleck’s last appearance on Friends, where he portrayed Richard Burke, the older lover of Courteney Cox’s character Monica Gellar.
Recently, the actor told PEOPLE he retains plenty of happy memories from his time spent on the show.
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“It was a great place to work,” Selleck said. “The actors were grateful for the opportunity and they were all as good as you can get.”
On Friends, Selleck’s character was an ophthalmologist and family friend of the Gellar family before he fell in love with Monica, 21 years her senior.
The actor, who had previously done a screen test with Cox, admitted that he was nervous once he signed on to play the recurring role in 1996.
“I hadn’t done a three camera live show since Taxi,” Selleck said. “It scared me a little. But that’s the price you pay for opportunity!”
Originally, Selleck signed on for only three episodes, but at the table read for what was supposedly to be his last, “They said, ‘Hey can you do a few more?’” he recalled. “So then I did more. And I quickly realized, ‘Wow, this is a big deal.’”
The actor returned in 2000, when Richard briefly threatened to break up the relationship between Monica and Chandler (Matthew Perry).
“It just worked,” he said, referring his role and the camaraderie amongst the Friends cast. “I thought it was great.”
As of the much anticipated unscripted Friends reunion special at HBO Max, Selleck shared that they haven’t asked him to be a part of it. “But if the opportunity came up, I’d do it again!” he exclaimed.
Brittany R
Brittany is a writer who is obsessed with rom-com movies, Gossip Girl, reality television, fashion, and pop-culture. When she isn't reporting on the latest celeb buzz, she is filling up her online shopping cart without checking out.