Tom Selleck's Friends Character Explained

As famous as the main cast of Friends is, the '90s sitcom was known for its A-list guest stars including Magnum P.I. and Blue Bloods actor Tom Selleck

While Friends featured plenty of famous guest stars throughout its 10-season run, Tom Selleck's character was of particular importance in the sitcom. One of the most defining shows of the '90s, Friends is still quoted and referenced to this day. Friends' most significant storylines revolved around the main six characters' dating lives, whether it was Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel's (Jennifer Aniston) on-again, off-again relationship, Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler's (Matthew Perry) secret (then not-so-secret) romance, Joey's (Matt LeBlanc) many conquests, or Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) sweet courtship with Mike (Paul Rudd). The Friends' characters' romantic lives meant the show had many guest stars playing the roles of love interests.

Often guest-starring roles are played by up-and-coming actors looking for their big break, but Friends was so iconic that A-list actors were clamoring to be on the show. Aniston's then-husband Brad Pitt appeared in season 8 as Will Colbert, a character who, humorously, hated Rachel. Meanwhile, Rachel's sisters Jill and Amy Green were respectively played by Reese Witherspoon and Christina Applegate, two of the '90s most famous actresses. Star of the White Lotus and American Pie Jennifer Coolidge also appeared on Friends. But while most celebrities only appeared on one episode, Tom Selleck had a multiple-episode run on Friends, and he was one of the show's most important guest stars.

Tom Selleck Played Richard Burke On Friends

Tom Selleck first appeared as Richard Burke in Friends season 2, episode 15 "The One Where Ross and Rachel... You Know". Richard is an ophthalmologist who is a close friend of Monica and Ross' parents, and he and Monica enter a romantic relationship despite the fact that Richard is 21 years Monica's senior. Though they're happy together, their age difference gets in the way because Richard, a grandfather, doesn't want to have more kids, but Monica very much longs to be a mother. They break up, though Richard returns in season 6 wanting Monica back, but he backs down when he learns that Chandler plans on proposing to her.

Though some fans were put off by Richard and Monica's age gap, Tom Selleck's natural charm made Richard a likable character, and a case could be made that Monica and Richard were a better Friends couple than she and Chandler. It says a lot about how much Richard cares about Monica that he would be willing to change his stance on children to keep her in his life. Richard is a character willing to make hard sacrifices for love, which he proves again when he walks away from Monica after seeing how much Chandler loves her.

Tom Selleck Was "Scared To Death" Of Playing Richard On Friends

Tom Selleck was a long-established TV star before Friends even premiered, famous for playing Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum in the '80s crime drama Magnum P.I. But despite his credentials, Selleck was nervous about appearing on Friends. On The Kelly Clarkson Show, Selleck said, "I was scared to death. I had done Taxi a long time before, but I hadn’t done a sitcom so I was really nervous." It speaks to Friends' status as an absolute juggernaut of a show that a veteran TV actor like Selleck was so afraid to be a guest star.

The actor went on to say that Courteney Cox helped him with his nerves, and that while he was only supposed to be in three episodes, he appeared in nine. Ironically, Selleck wound up becoming a staple of the show he was so intimidated by, and the actor would continue to dominate the small screen, as he's played Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in the police procedural Blue Bloods since 2010. But for Friends fans, Tom Selleck will always be Richard Burke.

ncG1vNJzZmirk6eyprrRmqWtZpOkunDAzqZkrJ2cobKkt4yfqaKdnpnAbq%2FHmqmam6Sav26x16mjmqGemrFw