Julia Roberts got Matthew Perry to write her a paper on physics in exchange for appearing on Friends – Daily Mail

They had electric onscreen chemistry, and went on to date in real life.

Such was the case for stars Julia Roberts and Matthew Perry, around the time she guest starred on his hit ensemble comedy series Friends for a special episode in 1996.

And in order to convince the future Oscar winner to appear on the NBC sitcom, the actor – most well known for playing Chandler Bing – had to write her a term paper on quantum physics.

Details about that fateful Friends episode from season two, titled The One After The Super Bowl, were shared Thursday in The Hollywood Reporter, in an exclusive conversation with show creators David Crane, Marta Kauffman and other notable producers and writers.

‘Matthew asked her to be on the show,’ executive producer Kevin Bright shared. 

‘She wrote back to him, “Write me a paper on quantum physics, and I’ll do it,”‘ he continued. 

‘My understanding is that Matthew went away and wrote a paper and faxed it to her the next day.’

Friends writer Alexa Junge shared more about those initial exchanges between the stars, who were both in the utter prime of their careers at the time.

‘They may have met before the episode, but she was interested in him from afar because he’s so charming,’ Junge recalled. 

‘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 and trying to make it happen for him,’ she added.

Co-writer Jeff Astrof also recalled what it was like to have Julia on set, filming in front of a live studio audience with her soon-to-be boyfriend.

‘I remember standing with her on the sidelines. She kept saying, “Chandler’s so funny!” And I’m like, “I wrote every one of those lines!” I don’t know if she fell in love with Matthew on the spot but they soon started dating.’

Perry and Roberts were linked from 1995, surely around the time they shot the special episode, into the following year.

The article comes as Friends fans eagerly await the much-hyped reunion of the six original stars, which has been delayed countless times due to the coronavirus pandemic.