“He wrote a paper and faxed it to her the next day”: Matthew Perry Studied Quantum Physics to Persuade Julia Roberts to Appear in FRIENDS Only to Dump Her on Live Television
FRIENDS has been one of the most successful sitcoms on American television, encouraging several other directors and producers to take inspiration and create something of a similar genre. FRIENDS fans are aware of the crazy things that happened backstage and even behind the scenes. Many fans and viewers seem to find the bloopers even funnier than the actual scene, but what people might not be aware of is Matthew Perry’s sense of humor being one of a kind.
Matthew Perry’s character Chandler Bing literally tickles our funny bones with his subtle sarcasm. Perry seemed quite at home with his FRIENDS character, for he shared a similar wretched sense of humor just like Chandler Bing. The actor excelled at impressing and convincing Julia Roberts to appear on FRIENDS just to dump her onscreen.
Matthew Perry’s silliness attracted Julia Roberts
Matthew Perry played the role of Chandler Bing, one of the central characters from FRIENDS. He was among the audience’s favorite characters, due to his self-deprecating jokes on screen as well as his charming personality. Although Chandler Bing’s friends considered him homosexual, audiences sure didn’t and neither did Julia Roberts.
Although Matthew Perry started off as a fairly unknown actor in the industry, he achieved his big break, through FRIENDS. Playing the role of Chandler Bing provided him with the push he deserved in the entertainment world. His silliness and goofy character captured Julia Roberts’ attention, so much so that she appeared on the show.
The high-profile mid-90s romance between Matthew Perry and Julia Roberts sparked with his natural humor and a bit of knowledge of quantum physics. Although just like Chandler Bing, even Perry had a tough time dating women due to his awkwardness, he somehow managed to woo the Pretty Woman star, Julia Roberts.
Despite Matthew Perry’s awkwardness among women, the actor managed to break his silence in front of women with his humor. Thankfully after FRIENDS gained popularity, the actor gained prominence and fame which helped him strike up conversations with women. Being a naturally charming and conventionally attractive man, Perry soon found himself in a high-profile relationship with Julia Roberts.
Matthew Perry studied quantum physics as a way of persuading Julia Roberts
Matthew Perry and his relationship with Roberts was the reason she agreed to appear on FRIENDS as a guest star. After learning about Perry and Roberts’ relationship, it became NBC executive’s biggest goal to bring Julia Roberts on the show. Martha Kauffman agreed to bring the Hollywood actress on the show, however, Roberts had one condition.
Show producer Kevin S. Bright shared “Matthew (Perry) asked her to be on the show. She wrote back to him, ‘Write me a paper on quantum physics, and I’ll do it. My understanding is that Matthew went away and wrote a paper and faxed it to her the next day.”
Julia Roberts had a great interest in Perry even before they acted on the show. But it increased more after they appeared on the FRIENDS. Staff writer Alex Junge shared “They may have met before the episode, but she was interested in him from afar because he’s so charming. There was a lot of flirting over faxing. She was giving him these questionnaires like, ‘Why should I go out with you?’ And everyone in the writers’ room helped him explain to her why. He could do pretty well without us, but there was no question we were on Team Matthew ”
Although their relationship was quite enticing and Perry tried to impress Roberts quite a lot, it all seemed just to dump her after the show and leave her traumatized. The alleged high-profile couple, unfortunately, broke off their romance after dating for a year from 1995 to 1996.
Source: The Things
