George Clooney and Matthew Perry in the mid-90s, around the time of their breakthrough performances in ER and Friends.
George Clooney has opened up about his relationship with Matthew Perry following the Friends star’s death earlier this year.
Both actors had their major career breakthroughs in the mid-90s, with George starring as Dr. Doug Ross in ER and Matthew playing Chandler Bing in Friends.
In a recent interview with Deadline, George – who guest-starred in a memorable two-part episode of Friends’ first season – reminisced about how the two shows were filmed “side by side” on the Warner Bros. soundstage, leading to close relationships between the casts.
“That was a fun time to watch those guys,” George said. “We were all really close.”
George revealed that he knew Matthew long before Friends, saying, “I knew Matt when he was 16 years old. We used to play paddle tennis together.
“He’s about 10 years younger than me. He was a great, funny kid. All he would say to us was, ‘I just want to get on a sitcom, man. I just want to get on a regular sitcom and I would be the happiest man on earth.’ And he got on probably one of the best ever.” George Clooney at the premiere of The Boys In The Boat earlier this month
However, George noted that achieving this goal “didn’t bring him joy or happiness or peace”.
“It was hard to watch because we didn’t know what was going through him,” the Gravity star continued. “We just knew that he wasn’t happy and I had no idea he was taking 12 Vicodin a day and all the stuff he talked about [in his memoir], all that heartbreaking stuff.
“It also just tells you that success and money and all those things, it doesn’t automatically bring you happiness. You have to be happy with yourself and your life.” Matthew Perry in 2022
Throughout his career, Matthew was open about his struggles with addiction and mental health, themes central to his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing.
Since his death in October, his Friends co-stars have shared tributes to the late actor, and his family has established a charitable foundation in his honor to help people affected by substance abuse issues.
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