Matthew Perry, renowned for his portrayal of the sarcastic and wisecracking Chandler Bing in ‘Friends,’ once stood on the precipice of missing the golden opportunity. In a 2015 interview on ‘Late Night With Seth Meyers,’ Perry, who sadly passed away recently, reminisced about how he came perilously close to forfeiting his chance to star in the iconic sitcom.
Recalling the moment of desperation in 1994, he recounted a conversation with his “terrible” manager, who delivered grim news: “This happened to be the year that ‘Friends’ was shot, but I was off the market because I had taken a job on a pilot called ‘LAX 2194’ that was about baggage handlers at L.A. Airport in the year 2194.” Perry humorously described his role, stating, “So I was wearing a futuristic shirt, and little people played the aliens in which I had to sort out the aliens’ luggage, and that was basically the show.”
Despite being committed to the baggage handlers pilot, Perry also remembered receiving a script for ‘Friends’ and being immensely drawn to it: “It was hilarious and great. There was this part that was perfect for me and it was making me crazy that I couldn’t go up for it because of the baggage handlers show. I was losing my mind.”
But as fate would have it, an executive at Fox watched ‘LAX 2194’ and delivered a blunt verdict: “the worst thing we’ve ever seen in our lives.” Perry recalled the executive saying, “He is available. You can hire him for your little show called ‘Friends Like Us’ that then became ‘Friends,’” according to ‘People.’
Perry went on to star alongside Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow for 10 seasons on the NBC comedy, which ran from 1994 to 2004. The show received numerous accolades and is hailed as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, becoming a defining chapter in Perry’s career.
Despite his role in various other projects like ’17 Again,’ ‘Almost Heroes,’ ‘The Whole Nine Yards,’ ‘The Whole Ten Yards,’ ‘The Ron Clark Story,’ ‘Fools Rush In,’ ‘The Kid,’ and frequent hosting on ‘Saturday Night Live’ where he parodied ‘Friends,’ the series ultimately became the cornerstone of his career.
Matthew Perry’s passing at the age of 54, discovered deceased in his home’s bathtub, remains shrouded in mystery. As of now, no cause of death has been determined, with no evidence of drug or alcohol abuse, mental illness, or foul play.
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