Minnie Driver recalls her fond memories of Matthew Perry and share how he lifted others up despite the pain he was going through. In a obituary published by The GuardianTHE Goodwill Hunting the actress paid tribute to the late Friends star, with whom she appeared on stage in a London production of David Mamet’s film Sexual perversity in Chicago in 2003.
The actress shared the cast’s first real meeting, which she orchestrated when they began rehearsing for their show.
“I wanted to chat with him properly. I was going to lunch with my family and I remember calling him and saying would you mind coming to meet us, and he was so sweet about it,” Driver wrote about Perry. “The restaurant put us in the back, away from people, but when he walked in…the whole place lit up. The whole place was smiling.”
She noted that they were bonded to each other by their apprehension about going on stage. “We felt this vulnerability, being people who weren’t theater actors, putting ourselves on stage when everyone knew us and was ready to judge us. It’s funny when you bond over the scared, but we did it that summer,” she wrote.
Driver also recalled Perry’s unique balance of quick wit and reliable kindness, writing: “Matthew was one of the quickest people you could meet, ruthlessly funny in the way he reacted to people. He didn’t let you get away with anything.. . He was the most self-centered, self-deprecating person and really kind. Anyone who asked him for help, he helped.”
“He was in a good position when we were doing the play, but the thing about him was that he was like a light,” she recalls. “He was one of those people who just did good for others. Somehow they don’t drag you into their sadness or their pain, and I know now that his pain was great.”
The actress opened up about Perry’s conflicted relationship with her Friends fame, which he spoke frankly about the past. “Matthew, it must not be forgotten, was a very good actor,” she wrote. “I recently looked at the reviews of our play – and his were all very good, except for one. I remember his reaction: ‘Some people just want Chandler, and I don’t know if I’ I have the right to be.” something other than that. This character was going to be iconic and loved forever, but clearly he had so much more to offer.”
The driver continued: “But he knew that Friends I was never going to let him go. It was a pretty tight yoke. Part of Matthew’s inner struggle was that he was so closely identified with a role that was also dear to him – a role at which he was so good. But it also kept him in a specific place, so it felt like a tug-of-war. I also think that if you’re struggling with addiction and living this extraordinary, rarefied life where people love you so completely, it’s always difficult to accept the possibility of your fallibility.”
Although the actress admitted she had difficulty reading Perry’s 2022 memoir Friends, lovers and the big terrible thing — she wrote that “it was unbearable, how much he suffered” — she said the memoir ultimately served as a positive force in her life.
“I last saw him on his book tour last year. It was such a relief to hear him say that by revealing all these difficult things, he had sort of exorcised it” , she said. “I’m incredibly grateful that he was able to see how much people loved this book and loved it, outside of the world. Friends. Ultimately, this seems to be a positive thing. »
Pear died October 28 at 54 years old, acute effects of ketamine.
After his death, his estate announced the formation of the Matthew Perry Foundation, a charity dedicated to helping people struggling with drug addiction. In a statement shared with ET, officials said the organization will follow in Perry’s footsteps and continue his life’s mission to help others struggling with addiction, which he said was “paramount” to him before his death.
“The Matthew Perry Foundation is the realization of Matthew’s enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction,” the release said.
“She will honor her legacy and be guided by her own words and experiences and driven by her passion to make a difference in as many lives as possible,” said the release announcing the foundation.
The actor was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles on November 3.
AND Previously reported that Perry Friends co-stars — Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc And David Schwimmer — attended his funeral, with other relatives.
