“God did not forget”: Matthew Perry’s Deal Quickly Went Sour After Taking ‘Friends’ Role Away From a Friend
Matthew Perry, who is widely known for portraying fan favorite character Chandler Bing on the NBC television show FRIENDS from 1994-2004 alongside actors Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer, recently passed away after he was found unresponsive in his hot tub. The cause of his death is yet to be determined.
The actor had also appeared in various other projects, including The West Wing, in which he portrayed the character of Joe Quincy, for which he earned two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in Drama Series in 2003 and 2004, but no other character of Perry could bring him the success and fame as Chandler Bing did. But how did he land the role of the king of sarcasm?
Matthew Perry reveals he got on his knees and prayed to God for fame
In his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, via BI actor Matthew Perry details the highs and lows of his fame that came along with portraying Chandler on-screen along with getting honest about his struggle with alcohol and substance abuse. Matthew Perry writes,
“About three weeks before my audition for Friends, I was alone in my apartment on Sunset and Doheny, 10th floor. It was very small but it had a great view, of course, and I was reading in the newspaper about Charlie Sheen. It said Charlie Sheen was yet again in trouble for something, but I remember thinking, why does he care- he’s famous.”
Perry continued,
“Out of nowhere I found myself getting to my knees, closing my eyes tightly and praying. I had never done this before. I said, God, you can do whatever you want to me. Just please make me famous. Three weeks later, I got cast in Friends. And God has certainly kept his side of the bargain, but the Almighty, being Almighty, had not forgotten the first part of the prayer as well.”
Perry referred to his battle with alcohol and substance abuse over the years and in his memoir he had mentioned he had spent about $6 million in order to get sober.
Matthew Perry says he was ‘crushed’ when Craig Bierko was offered Chandler Bing’s part
The actor mentioned that at the time he was attached to a project titled L.A.X. 2194, a sci-fi comedy, and his agents told him that he couldn’t pursue FRIENDS because of the sci-fi comedy which he said was a devastating moment for him. Perry was disappointed on hearing that he couldn’t pursue Chandler because he noted that he wasn’t just reading for Chandler, he knew he was Chandler.
Matthew Perry added via BI that he was crushed when his good friend Craig Bierko was offered the part of Chandler Bing but he told him that he should accept the part because it was a good part to play. But Bierko turned down the part on FRIENDS and instead accepted a part in another show titled Best Friends.
When L.A.X. 2194 failed to pick up, Perry was available for his dream part and then he got a life-changing phone call from co-creator Marta Kauffman. The late actor writes at that point he knew the script by heart and he had nailed his audition by incorporating a unique cadence of emphasizing unexpected words which became one of the essential parts of Chandler’s personality.
Perry said Bierko’s desire to be the star of his show had saved his life, as he had mentioned many times that the show saved him. He was the last actor to come on board.
Also read: Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc Reportedly Have One Big Regret After Tragic Death of Matthew Perry
