The pair worked together for ten years on the iconic sitcom.
Lisa Kudrow has revealed that she is currently rewatching Friends in order to celebrate Matthew Perry’s talent and to remember how “hilarious” he was.
The 54-year-old actor passed away from “acute effects of ketamine” at his home in California last October.
Kudrow shared the screen with Perry from 1994 until 2004, and during that time the pair grew close.
Now, Kudrow, who played the eccentric and loveable Phoebe Buffay in the show, has revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that she has started to revisit the sitcom in the wake of Perry’s passing.
She avoided watching the show back for years, but grieving for her friend and former colleague led her to pressing play on it’s ten seasons.
“Honestly, I wasn’t able to watch it because it’s too embarrassing to watch yourself. But if I make it about Matthew, then that’s OK,” Kudrow told THR. “And it’s just celebrating how hilarious he was — and that is what I want to remember [about him].”
In the days after the star’s passing, Perry’s fellow Friends actors released a joint statement. Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow all said the Emmy-award nominated actor was an “unfathomable loss”.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew,” the Friends cast said.
“We were more than just castmates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss. In time we will say more, as and when we are able.
“For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
Kudrow has said that rewatching Chandler Bing’s antics and the escapades of the rest of the crew have filled her with an overwhelming sense of joy.
“I’m laughing out loud, and everyone is hilarious, she said. “I’m blown away by Courteney Cox.
“I’m blown away by Jen. Matthew, obviously, is just uniquely hilarious. No one ever knew that cadence or comedic rhythm before him.
“Matt LeBlanc is hilarious. And David Schwimmer, too. Sometimes I even laugh at what I’ve done,” she added. “So yeah, I mean, that’s my own little way of celebrating [the anniversaries], just watching it. But it’s embarrassing.
“At home, if anyone walks in the room and I’m watching Friends, that’s a horrible look, I think, don’t you?”
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Perry had a long-running and well-publicised battle with addiction to painkillers and alcohol and was in and out of rehab, spending millions on trying to get clean.
This led to numerous health issues.
In 2018, his colon “exploded” because of opiate abuse, requiring seven-hour surgery. He was given a 2 per cent chance of making it through the first night.
Perry did but spent the next two weeks in a coma. He also suffered pancreatitis in 2000.
His struggles with addiction were documented in Perry’s 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
