In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, "Friends" showrunners said that Roberts' one-episode appearance involved quantum physics and plenty of flirting via fax machine by Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing.
Roberts apparently said she'd only be part of the show if Perry wrote her 'a paper on quantum physics'
Roberts appeared on the famous season-two episode "The One After the Superbowl," which cast and crew broke down in the THR interview in honor of its 25th anniversary.
According to showrunners, one of the biggest triumphs of the episode was getting the "Notting Hill" star to appear on it.
Series cocreator Marta Kauffman told THR, "Getting Julia Roberts was incredibly exciting. We knew she would have the right touch for it. And when she said yes, it was pretty awesome."
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But executive producer Kevin Bright said Roberts didn't agree to join the episode right away.
According to Bright, Perry asked her to be part of the show and she told him, "Write me a paper on quantum physics and I'll do it."
Bright added, "My understanding is that Matthew went away and wrote a paper and faxed it to her the next day."
The showrunners also recalled the chemistry between Roberts and Perry, who later dated
A few showrunners also shared their recollections of the flirting between Roberts and Perry - staff writer Alexa Junge said even the writers' room tried to help bring the two together.
"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," Junge recalled, adding that they were "on Team Matthew."
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Cowriter Jeff Astrof added that Perry and Roberts had so much chemistry on set that they ended up dating in real life shortly after filming.
"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," he said.
The relationship was fairly private, but Roberts and Perry reportedly dated throughout 1996 - the same year the episode aired - and eventually went on to see other people not long after.
On the iconic episode, Roberts played Susie Moss, a former classmate of Chandler Bing
On the episode, Roberts played Susie Moss (named after writer Michael Borkow's real-life friend) a former classmate of Perry's Chandler Bing seeking some grown-up revenge after a childhood prank left her humiliated.
The 1996 episode became notable because it aired immediately after the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. It also featured a slew of other famous guests, including Brooke Shields, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Chris Isaak.
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