"It was lovely."
Lauren Tom is looking back at her time on Friends!
ET caught up with the 57-year-old actress at the Joy Luck Club 25th Anniversary Academy event in Beverly Hills, California, on Wednesday night and she spoke about her stint as Ross Geller's girlfriend, Julie, on the show's second season. Tom called the cast "welcoming" and even dished about David Schwimmer's kissing skills, noting that "he's a great guy."
"I joined in the beginning of the second season, and it just started to really take off, and you know how sometimes when something big happens, even though it's wonderful, it can feel like a crisis? So, those guys all just glommed together, hanging on for dear life," she explained. "I thought it was really incredible that they would include someone who just had a recurring part in their little tight-knit group. It was lovely."
Tom recalled that everyone seemed to want to know what it was like to lock lips with Schwimmer. "Just coming from theater, and having done some classics and taking acting so seriously, in that little period of time, all people wanted to know was is David Schwimmer a good kisser? And I was like, 'Really?' I mean all of that for this? But it was so funny..."
As for whether her co-star was a good kisser, she added, "And the answer is yes, by the way."
Julie stirred up drama instantly on the sitcom when she returned to New York with Ross, following his business trip to China. The unfortunate timing came right when Ross' eventual girlfriend, Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) realized that she was in love with him. The trio first meet in the airport, where Rachel comes to profess her love to Ross. Tom sites that scene as one of her favorites from her time on the beloved series.
"Welcome to our country," Rachel slowly screams in the scene, assuming that Julie doesn't speak English.
"Thank you. I'm from New York," Julie immediately fires back.
The scene, Tom told ET, was written after she pitched her real-life experiences to the writers on the show.
"When I used to live in Manhattan, there would be cab drivers, and people settling food on the streets, that would speak slowly and loudly to me because they thought because I was Asian, that I was dumb and deaf, I guess," she shared. "...So, I told that to the writers, and so that's why in the airport that they have [Rachel] say, 'Welcome to our country.' [Fans] always reference that line."
In addition to the airport scene, Tom revealed that fans also ask her "how the cats are," referencing Julie and Ross' ill-advised idea to adopt a feline together.
At the event, Tom also reminisced about her favorite memory while filming 1993's Joy Luck Club, which she starred in as Lena.
"The four of us daughters all have gigantic laughs and on the airplane ride up to San Francisco, we were literally shushed by the stewardess because we were being so loud. So, the whole thing felt like a family party," she shared. "We all bonded and we're still friends today."
While there's yet to be a Friends reunion, Aniston has expressed some interest. Here's what she had to say about her time on the sitcom and if she'd ever play Rachel again:
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