George Clooney is sharing a heartbreaking memory about his late friend Matthew Perry.
The “Ocean’s Eleven” star recalled Tuesday in an interview with Deadline that Perry was a “great” and “funny” kid when they first met as fellow actors in the 1980s, but that not even Perry’s dream of becoming a sitcom star made him “happy” after “Friends” casting.
“He was a kid and all he would say to us, I mean me, Richard Kind and Grant Heslov, was, I just want to get on a sitcom, man,” he said Tuesday. “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.”
Clooney continued, “He wasn’t happy. It didn’t bring him joy or happiness or peace. And watching that go on the lot — we were at Warner Brothers, we were there right next to each other — it was hard to watch because we didn’t know what was going through him.”
Clooney and Perry landed big breaks in 1994 after being cast on “ER” and “Friends,” respectively. Clooney told Deadline they frequently played paddle tennis together as both NBC shows were filmed at the same studio lot.
Perry, whose sarcasm-laden role as Chandler Bing made him a bona fide star, was found dead in his hot tub at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28 in an apparent drowning at 54 years old. However, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner recently released an autopsy report that cited Perry died from the “acute effects of ketamine.” The actor previously chronicled in his 2022 memoir his substance abuse issues.
“We just knew he wasn’t happy and I had no idea he was doing what, 12 Vicodin a day and all the stuff he talked about, all that heartbreaking stuff,” Clooney said Tuesday, adding Perry’s death is a reminder that “success and money” doesn’t “bring you happiness.”
He continued, “You have to be happy with yourself and your life.”
Jennifer Aniston recently told Variety she was texting with Perry the day he died and that he “was happy” and “getting in shape.”
Countless friends and former colleagues have mourned the late actor.
Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.
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