After Matthew Perry’s passing, it was as though the entire film industry began to look through every single one of their encounters with him to see if they had missed something. Gone too soon, his loss was felt all over the world thanks to his iconic role as Chandler Bing in FRIENDS. One of the most recent stars to speak out about the actor happens to be George Clooney.
During an interview, Clooney revealed the origins of his friendship with the actor, as well as other key details about their bond. He also seemed to have missed Perry’s addiction; however, the actor’s unhappiness was not lost on the ER actor.
George Clooney’s Deep Bond with Matthew Perry
During the promotion of his film, The Boys In The Boat, George Clooney gave an interview with Deadline, where he happened to touch on the topic of Matthew Perry’s passing since it had just happened at the time. Much like the rest of the world, the actor was deeply saddened when he heard the news and chose to look back at their happier moments, starting with how they met.
I knew Matt when he was 16 years old. We used to play paddle tennis together. He’s about 10 years younger than me. And he was a great, funny, funny, funny kid.
Clooney revealed that despite their age difference, he had first been acquainted with Perry when the FRIENDS actor was only 16 years old. They would often play paddle tennis together and grew very familiar with each other. It would also seem that Perry was just as funny in real life as he was in front of the camera, as the actor mentioned that he remembered him as a very funny person.
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. I just want to get on a regular sitcom and I would be the happiest man on earth.
Adding that Perry desperately wanted to star in a sitcom-style show, Clooney mentioned that there was a very weird coincidence later in their careers. When he was working on the first season of ER, his soundstage happened to be right next to FRIENDS when they were filming their first season. It is safe to assume that the proximity only brought them closer together.
George Clooney Knew That Matthew Perry Was Unhappy
While FRIENDS started off as a dream come true for the cast of the series, things took a sour turn when Matthew Perry began to battle an addiction. What made the situation all the worse was the fact that he hid it very well. Many of his closest friends were unaware of what was happening, and George Clooney happened to be one of them.
And he got on probably one of the best ever. He wasn’t happy. It didn’t bring him joy or happiness or peace.
During the interview, he mentioned that he had a weird understanding at some point in the series that Perry was not happy. He had fame and success, but he was still missing something that made it difficult for him to be happy.
We just knew that 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. And it also just tells you that success and money and all those things, it doesn’t just automatically bring you happiness. You have to be happy with yourself and your life.
While his unhappiness was evident, people close to him were not aware that he was abusing drugs on a regular basis. From this, Clooney understood that no amount of fame or money can mend someone’s sadness.
