Matthew Perry stopped a controversial storyline that would have “changed the course” of Friends, according to a former co-star.
Actor Lisa Cash, who played a flight attendant on the Season 5 episode “The One in Vegas: Part 1,” recently claimed to TMZ that she was originally cast as a hotel worker who Chandler Bing (Perry) cheats on Monica (Courteney Cox) with following a heated row.
“I came in as a guest star and I was super excited,” Cash claimed. “The scene was Chandler and Monica were arguing in Vegas about having lunch with Richard.”
She continued: “Initially in our script, Chandler goes up to the hotel room, orders room service and I bring it up [to him] as a hotel worker. We end up talking and laughing and connecting and Chandler ends up cheating on Monica with my character.”
“The Audience Will Never Forgive”
Cash also recalled to TMZ that she had rehearsed the controversial scene with Perry, but he stepped in and urged writers to change the script before filming the episode in front of a live audience.
“I was told that [Perry] went to the writers and said the audience will never forgive him for cheating on Monica,” Cash added “He was probably right. That would have changed the course of the show and his character.”
The writers ultimately agreed with Perry’s concerns, and the episode instead saw Chandler and Monica resolve their fight and make plans to get married at Las Vegas’ Little White Chapel.
Cash Paid Tribute To Perry
Cash was featured in the episode in spite of the last-minute plot changes. Instead, she played the flight attendant of Ross and Rachel (David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston) during their flight to Vegas.
Although the cheating storyline would have been a “game changer” for her career, Cash thought Perry’s decision to challenge it was “a good move.”
“They have that other thing with Ross and Rachel, ‘We were on a break,’ but Chandler and Monica weren’t on a break,” she added. “This was a decision that he was going to make to cheat on her.”
Meanwhile, Cash also paid tribute to Perry, who died at the age of 54 on Oct. 28, describing him as “quick and talented.”
“I was new to the industry, and it could have been really intimidating for me,” she recalled to TMZ. “But I just felt so comfortable, and he was really likable and welcoming and just made me feel at ease. And I had fun! It was just really fun doing the scene with him.”
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