Even though Friends premiered over 30 years ago, we’re still chomping at the bit for all the BTS stories we can get. Now, fan-favorite guest star Paget Brewster has given us one that had to be mortifying in the moment, but she can laugh about it now. I say that because she shared a story involving Matthew Perry and a wardrobe mishap that he handled in a very “gentlemanly” way.
While Brewster was only in six episodes of Friends across Season 4, she’s remembered fondly. She played Kathy, a woman who started out dating Joey but ended up in a brief fling with Chandler, and she was featured in some of Matthew Perry’s best episodes, like “The One with Chandler in a Box.” That means she spent a lot of time with Perry, and one day, while they were between scenes, he invited her over to play basketball in a pool, as the actress told The Independent:
I remember we had one day where Matthew and I were not going to be in scenes for about three hours. And so he said, ‘Hey, do you want to go? Do you want to go play basketball at my house? It’s just up Mulholland [Drive in Los Angeles]. And I was like, ‘Sure, let’s — I’ll go play basketball at your house.’
From there, the Huff actress noted that they were playing basketball in the pool, it was completely innocent, and she was wearing a pair of shorts and her bra. While they were in the midst of the game, her bra slipped, and I’d imagine it was a pretty uncomfortable wardrobe malfunction. However, Perry informed her of the mishap in a kind way, as she explained:
It was in his pool… and we’re throwing hoops, and I was wearing a pair of his shorts and my bra. He was dressed. I was dressed, but I threw a shot, and my bra slipped down, and Matthew — I’m laughing — and he looks at me, and he [puts his hand over his eyes] and goes, ‘You’re, you gotta, you might wanna take a look at that.’
Honestly, this kind of mishap feels like a story that would be told on Friends. It’s quite funny, and the fact that they both handled it maturely and kindly makes it even better. Truly, this feels like the kind of tale that was bad in the moment but funny in hindsight, especially since Perry handled it in a kind and awkward Chandler-coded way.
Speaking about how Perry was “such a gentleman and a sweetheart” during this whole situation, Paget Brewster said:
[He was] such a gentleman and a sweetheart. He was really a lovely guy. And I’m really glad I was able to read his book before he passed.
The Criminal Minds actor was referencing her co-star’s memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, which came out the year before Perry passed away. Along with this story and appreciation for his book, Brewster paid tribute to her co-star and spoke fondly of working closely with him on the beloved sitcom.
Clearly, she adored Matthew Perry and their time working together on Friends, even when it involved a potentially embarrassing wardrobe mishap. And it’s always fun as a fan to hear stories about what it was like to work on this massive hit.
Now, if you want to go back and see these two and the rest of the cast of Friends on screen and in character, you can stream the sitcom with a Max subscription.
