2023-10-29 09:20:44
Matthew Perry, the actor who played the beloved character of Chandler Bing in Friends, died this Saturday at the age of 54. The Los Angeles Times has reported that he was found drowned in the jacuzzi of his home, citing law enforcement sources. The interpreter published his autobiography last year, Friends, lovers and that terrible thingin which he opened up to talk about his addiction to drugs and alcohol, in addition to revealing the ins and outs of the NBC sitcom that catapulted him to fame.
Alcohol, drugs and hospitals: Matthew Perry’s hell beyond ‘Friends’
Perry participated in the 234 episodes of the fiction, broadcast between 1994 and 2004, in which she shared the spotlight with Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer. She met them two years ago in an HBO Max special that lived up to expectations as an ode to what the series was and remains intact.
The interpreters of Rachel, Chandler, Ross, Monica, Joey and Phoebe, the most popular group of friends on the small screen, indulged in nostalgia, re-entering the legendary sets and apartments of the famous production, remembering chapters and the jokes that were made on filming. In addition to revealing details about what was not seen in front of the cameras during the 10 years they were in charge of the title.
Among them, their union was so strong that they ate together every day of recording, even on weekends, and that they even met up to watch the episodes. Perry also revealed that she felt “anxiety” and “enormous pressure” during filming because she was afraid that the audience would not laugh at her jokes. “I thought I was going to die if they didn’t laugh, I started sweating and I had convulsions,” she confessed to the surprise of her colleagues, among whom a moved Kudrow responded that she had “never” told them about it.
In addition to the well-known comedy, he participated in films such as Fools Rush In (1994), Fake appearances (2000), Hung on Sara (2002), Numb (2007), Birds of America (2008) y 17 againwhich was his last feature film and was released in 2009. Beyond Friends, The actor participated in series such as Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006-2007), Mr. Sunshine (2011), Go on (2012-2013), The Odd Couple (2015-2017) y The Kennedy’s After Camelot (2017).
Perry earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2007 for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for The Ron Clark Story (2007). For this same work he received one of his three Emmy nominations, which were added in 2002 as Best Comedy Actor for Friends and in 2004 as Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series for The West Wing.
De Matthew a Chandler
Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, but grew up primarily in Ottawa, Ontario. There he moved in with her mother after her parents divorced when he was nine months old. She later ended up settling in Los Angeles, where she began acting at the age of ten. During her time in high school she participated in plays. The Miracle of Anne Sullivan y The Sound of Music. As he revealed in his autobiography, he did not stand out because he was a good student, but he did stand out because of his talent for acting and tennis.
The American had already appeared in some series and movies before entering Friends. Her first notable role on television was in Boys Will Be Boys (1987). Her first feature film was A night in the life of Jimmy Reardon (1988), in which he shared the spotlight and became friends with River Phoenix.
Despite what seemed like a promising start, six years later, Perry was broke. His agents got him a role in the failed series L.A.X. 2194whose failure allowed him to remain free when Marta Kauffman, co-creator and executive producer of the comedy, called him to sign him.
For the actor, who had his first drink of alcohol when he was only fourteen years old, his entry into the famous sitcom was one of his best moments. The excitement of participating in it and the creative work environment made him put a stop to his daily life then marked by parties and drunkenness. It was he who provided the characteristic cadence in the way of speaking of his on-screen alter ego. But little by little the pressure was devouring him. When he turned 25 and although on the outside the feeling might have been that “everything was perfect”, he was devastated and began to drink alone in his apartment. At 26 he entered a rehabilitation clinic for the first time, while the maelstrom of Friends continued.
Perry explained in his book that during filming he suffered weight changes ranging from 58 to 102 kilos due to his addiction. The only round in which he was clean was the ninth, which in turn was the only one in which he achieved the Emmy nomination for Best Comedy Actor. The last chapter of the fiction was broadcast on May 6, 2004.
After its denouement, the actor worked on other titles such as Studio 60, Mr. Sunshine, Go on, The Odd Couple y The Kennedys after Camelot. He wrote his own scripts and plays; and he developed projects to help other people overcome alcoholism and drug addiction.
A torrent of charisma
With his autobiography he took a step further at the end of 2022, leaving a painful and valuable testimony for posterity. In it he mixed the sweetest moments of his life with the darkest, including the relapses, the times he was on the verge of dying and the health problems resulting from it. And yet, thanks to his overwhelming and tender charisma – the same one he gave to Chandler – she left room for the light to enter.
“I am who I am and that should be enough. In reality, I’ve always been enough, it’s just that I was the only one who wasn’t able to see it. But now I have seen it. I am an actor. I am a writer. I am a person. And good, in fact (…). I was a Canadian boy who managed to fulfill all his dreams, only they were the wrong dreams. And instead of giving up, I changed and went out to find others,” he wrote in the last pages of his book.
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