'We loved him so much' How Matthew Perry changed all 'Friends' actors lives
The star cast of "Friends" (series shot)
The comedic American TV series "Friends" has become one of the most successful sitcoms in history. The life story of the six young people, the main characters of the show, left no viewer uninterested. The recent sudden death of Matthew Perry stirred a multitude of emotions both among the actor's relatives and in the hearts of his former friends on the set.
RBC-Ukraine reports what each of "Friends" actors wrote about their friend and colleague Matthew Perry, citing their Instagram.
Jennifer Aniston
The actress admitted that Perry's death deeply wounded her, and saying goodbye to him turned into a wave of emotions she had never felt before.
"We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love. Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply. He was such a part of our DNA. We were always the 6 of us. This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be," she wrote.
Aniston recalled that Matthew always loved making people laugh, and his life depended on it.
"he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn't hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard. In the last couple weeks, I’ve been poring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again. I’ll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all," she wrote, adding that she still "talks to Matthew every day."
"Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying "could you BE any crazier?" Rest little brother. You always made my day…" Aniston concluded.
Historical photo from the set (photo: instagram.com/jenniferaniston)
Courtney Cox
Cox, who played Chandler Bing's love interest in the series, thanked him for every minute spent together, noting that she misses him every day.
"When you work with someone as closely as I did with Matthew, there are thousands of moments I wish I could share," she added.
In her post, the actress shared a clip from the finale of the fourth season of "Friends" titled "The One with Ross's Wedding." In this scene, Monica and Chandler wake up in bed together, and the studio audience literally goes wild.
"For now here’s one of my favorites," she confessed, recalling how "Chandler and Monica were supposed to have a one night fling in London."
"But because of the audience’s reaction, it became the beginning of their love story. In this scene, before we started rolling, he whispered a funny line for me to say.
He often did things like that. He was funny and he was kind," Cox wrote.
Lisa Kudrow
Kudrow thanked her set colleague for teaching her to laugh and love.
The actress recalled that after shooting the pilot episode of the series "Friends Like Us", Perry suggested that all the actors, who were not yet close at the time, play poker. And he "made it so much fun while we initially bonded."
"Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached, and tears poured down my face EVERY DAY. Thank you for your open heart in a six way relationship that required compromise. And a lot of “talking.” Thank you for showing up at work when you weren’t well and then, being completely brilliant. Thank you for the best 10 years a person gets to have," Lisa wrote.
She also notes that she is grateful to Matthew for his trust and for teaching her about grace and love.
"Thank you for the time I got to have with you, Matthew," she wrote, adding an old shared photo.
(instagram.com/lisakudrow)
Matt LeBlanc
LeBlanc honored the memory of his friend and colleague with a special message.
"It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life. It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never," wrote the actor.
Even in the face of the loss, Matt couldn't resist making a joke and remembered that Perry never could repay him an old debt.
"Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love. And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me," he concluded.
(instagram.com/mleblanc)
David Schwimmer
Schwimmer thanked his former companion for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity, expressing admiration for his work.
"Thank you for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity. I will never forget your impeccable comic timing and delivery. You could take a straight line of dialogue and bend it to your will, resulting in something so entirely original and unexpectedly funny it still astonishes," he recalled.
The actor admitted that once six strangers "created a real family" thanks to Perry's big heart, which he generously shared with others.
He also shared a photo, calling it one of his favorites.
"This photo is from one of my favorite moments with you. Now it makes me smile and grieve at the same time. I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around— “Could there BE any more clouds?" David concluded.
