The late Matthew Perry has canceled a “Friends” storyline that would have put his beloved character in bed with another woman, the actor revealed Tuesday.
Perry feared fans would “never forgive” Chandler Bing for cheating on Monica Geller – his on-screen love interest played by Courteney Cox – according to actress Lisa Cash, who was tapped to play the other woman.
For two days, Cash rehearsed the role of a Las Vegas hotel bellboy who brings room service to Chandler, who is upset because Monica had lunch with her ex-boyfriend Richard, played by Tom Selleck. And while Chandler was pouring his heart out, he was about to cheat on Monica as Cash.
But on the day Cash’s role was scheduled to be filmed, he was an assistant director I told her that the scene – and her role – It was cut offI remembered.
“Matthew Perry said the public will never forgive him,” Cash told NBC News on Tuesday. “Matthew Perry went into the book and said the audience would never forgive him (Chandler), which makes a lot of sense.”
Cash said that Perry was right and that the cheating arc could have changed the show.
“I think he was absolutely right,” Cash, 54, said from her home in suburban Atlanta. “The matter of Ross and Rachel (David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston), “They were on a break.” But this won’t be a break. This could have been a decision he would have made while they were together.
She continued: “I think it would have really changed the way the audience viewed Chandler and this whole thing. “I don’t know if they can survive it.”
“Friends” still used Cash in that fifth-season episode — “The One in Vegas: Part I” that aired May 20, 1999 — where they cast her as a flight attendant.
Over the years, Cash has wondered how this potential role as Chandler’s relationship would impact her career.
“I wonder a lot because I could have been like, ‘Oh, that character you love to hate.’” “But I could also have been the girl who broke up with Chandler and Monica and no one would forgive me,” she added.
“So I could have gotten a lot of bad publicity out of it. But I didn’t mind knowing that. But I think it was the best decision for the show, and in the end, that was the most important thing.”
representatives for Warner Bros. Television And show the creators David Crane and Marta Kaufmann He could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Although Perry ended up recanting that story, Cash said the actor never showed his displeasure during rehearsal.
“I never knew he had a problem with that,” she said. “But he was a complete professional (during rehearsals).” He made me feel very comfortable in the scene and we had fun and played and did what actors are supposed to do.
. “Professional creator. Lifelong thinker. Reader. Beer buff. Troublemaker. Evil problem solver.”