It’s been more than two years since Matthew Perry died at age 54, and yet a piece of him lives on through his role as Chandler Bing on Friends. Perry’s five former co-stars from what is considered one of the best sitcoms of all time have paid tribute to the actor in several ways over the years and spoken out about how his death affected the group. It turns out for Lisa Kudrow, she’s found comfort in the place where it all began.
Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe Buffay on the NBC sitcom's 10 seasons, has been open about not being able to watch Friends because she didn’t like watching herself (and all of Phoebe’s offbeat hilarity). However, after they lost Matthew Perry, her perspective changed. She told the Capital FM:
After Matthew passed away there were marathons, and that was really comforting, watching the show. Also just cuz it makes me laugh. And there he was, and he was so funny. The funniest. Sorry, everybody else.
No apology necessary, I’m sure! Chandler Bing did have the funniest lines on Friends, and the fact that fans could still hear those jokes — whether through a TV marathon or streaming with an HBO Max subscription — undoubtedly helped people process his death. Being able to focus on Chandler rather than Phoebe certainly helped Lisa Kudrow’s rewatch. She continued:
So I thought ‘Yeah, now I need to, why don’t I just see what this show is about?’ Because I didn't watch every episode when we were shooting. I had a kid and I don’t know. None of us were.
As someone who’s seen every Friends episode 2.7 billion times, it’s hard to process the fact that Lisa Kudrow and her co-stars haven’t watched the show — she and Courteney Cox have said they don’t remember most of the episodes — but it does make sense. That was their job, not their escape like Friends is for so many of us.
However, watching the show back after Matthew Perry died allowed the actress to remember things like how hard he made them all laugh when they filmed that “nightmare” opening scene in the fountain. It even helped Lisa Kudrow come to terms with her own character, with Phoebe’s story bringing her to tears.
Perry’s life ended in tragic fashion, as the actor was ruled to have drowned in his hot tub after a ketamine overdose, but he worked hard when he was alive to help others who were also struggling with addiction. Perry addressed his legacy in his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, writing that he hoped to be remembered for that as much as for his role as Chandler Bing.
I’m not sure he realized how much comfort Chandler would end up bringing to his fans and co-stars.
All 10 seasons of Friends can be streamed on HBO Max, and be sure to check out 10 of the funniest Chandler episodes. You can also currently catch Lisa Kudrow on The Comeback Season 3, which is a must-watch for all Friends fans. New episodes air at 10:30 p.m. ET Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
