Friends Cast and Matthew Perry: True Friendship Off Screen

Friends cast releases statement on Matthew Perry's death. They were utterly devastated. Aniston reveals Perry had a crush on her. Cox and Perry had lunch.

The cast of Friends has released a statement expressing their deep sorrow over the death of Matthew Perry. Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, and David Schwimmer are devastated by the loss of their co-star, who passed away at the age of 54 on Saturday, October 28, 2023. Perry was found unresponsive in the jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home.

The actors worked together for 10 seasons on the popular sitcom between 1994 and 2004. During this time, they formed close relationships, going through marriages, break-ups, parenthood, health struggles, and becoming world-famous stars together.

Perry's real friendship with his co-stars extended beyond the screen. Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel, shared a close bond with Perry. In 2019, Aniston's first Instagram post revealed her spending an evening with all her old Friends co-stars. Perry had confessed to having a crush on Aniston in his memoir, "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing." He tried to impress her when they first met by telling her about some acting roles he had signed up for. Perry admitted that he frequently overanalyzed every conversation they had but eventually got over his crush due to Aniston's "deafening lack of interest."

Aniston has spoken about how much she cared about Perry and expressed her concern for him as he battled alcohol and drug addiction. She revealed her worries about not being equipped to help him. Perry revealed that Aniston confronted him about his drinking on the set of Friends, which ultimately led him to seek help.

Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe, shared a special memory with Perry. He gave her the clock-shaped cookie jar that says "Cookie time" from the Friends set when the show concluded. Kudrow revealed that Perry stole the cookie jar for her, and it had a special memory for her.

Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey, has called his co-stars family, describing Courteney and Lisa as his big sisters, Jennifer as his little sister, Matthew as his little brother, and David as his big brother. LeBlanc supported Perry for his debut as a playwright in 2016, attending the opening night of Perry's play, "The End Of Longing," in London.

Courteney Cox, who is close friends with Aniston and Kudrow, often shares pictures of them hanging out together. She also used to spend time with Matthew Perry, her on-screen husband, Chandler. In 2019, the pair had lunch together, and Cox humorously paid tribute to Chandler's famous sarcasm.

In 2016, the Friends cast gathered to pay tribute to director Jimmy Burrows, but Perry couldn't make it as he was doing a play in London. David Schwimmer expressed his sadness but also his happiness for Perry, acknowledging his thrilling play in London.