The actress appeared in the series in the episode 'The One After the Super Bowl', broadcast in 1996. She played Susie Moss, Chandler's schoolmate.
In 1996 'Friends' had the privilege of being the series that aired right after the Super Bowl game, a very sought-after position on the television grid since it usually represents a huge audience boost that stays in front of the TV after having seen the most watched sporting event each year.
Of course, you have to take advantage of the opportunity, and the episode, which was conveniently titled 'The One After the Super Bowl', featured appearances by celebrities like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Brooke Shields and yes, Julia Roberts.
The story of how "America's Sweetheart" agreed to appear in the sitcom is very curious. The series team has remembered it in a report for the 25th anniversary of the broadcast. At the time, Matthew Perry and Julia Roberts were flirting quite intensely. Executive producer Kevin Bright remembers that they asked Perry to intercede and try to convince Roberts. She told him: "Write me an essay on quantum physics and I will do it." Bright recalls: "I understand that Matthew went and wrote the essay and faxed it to him the next day."
It turns out that fax (for younger readers, a system for sending documents by telephone), was the two's favorite means of continuing to flirt: "She was very interested in him because he is so charming. They flirted a lot by fax. She sent him questionnaires like 'Why should I date you?' and the writers tried to explain to her why," recalls screenwriter Alexa Junge, recalling that she wrote very good jokes to win her over because, she says, they were from Team Matthew.
Adds another screenwriter, Jeff Astrof: "I remember being with her backstage. She kept saying, 'Chandler is so funny.' And I was like, 'I wrote every single one of those lines!' I don't know if she fell in love with Matthew at that time but they started dating soon."
The 'Friends' actor and the 'Pretty Woman' actress dated for a while between 1995 and 1996, but it didn't last long. For fans of 'Friends' we will always have Susie "Panties" and that revenge in the restaurant bathroom for what she did to her when they were in fourth grade.
