Matthew Perry Met Sarah Paulson in a Parking Lot to Run Lines in His Car Before Her ‘Studio 60’ Audition: He Gave Me ‘A Leg Up on the Other Performer’

Sarah Paulson revealed on “The View” that Matthew Perry helped land her a supporting role on Aaron Sorkin’s short-lived TV series “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” Perry headlined the NBC show opposite Bradley Whitford and Amanda Peet, all of whom were cast already when Paulson was auditioning for the role of fictional actor Harriet Hayes. The Emmy winner said Perry took her under his wing and ensured she had an advantage in her final audition by personally running lines with her.

“I was at a particular place in my career where I needed that job very desperately,” Paulson said. “He, because of his friendship with Amanda Peet, who was my best friend at the time and was also on the show – they had done a movie together called ‘The Whole Nine Yards’ – so he asked me to meet him in the parking lot for my final audition and I got in his car and he ran the whole scene with me multiple times so I could have a leg up on the other performer. And I did get the job.”

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Paulson continued, “So I sort of credit him with taking that extra time and he absolutely did not need to do that. He was just the kind of person that if you made him laugh or if you made him smile you felt like you had really arrived. I had the great pleasure of making him laugh a couple times and it made me feel really good. He was a wonderful guy.”

“Studio 60” only lasted one season on NBC and aired its series finale in June 2007. Perry died unexpectedly on Oct. 28 at 54 years old. He was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home, according to law enforcement. There were no signs of foul play or drugs on the scene.

Paulson is one of many of Perry’s former co-stars who have shared stories about his generosity on set. John Stamos, for instance, remembered how Perry came to his aid during an embarrassing visit to the set of “Friends.” Stamos made a surprise cameo on the NBC sitcom in 2003 during the show’s ninth season. He played Zach, Chandler’s co-worker who is courted to be a potential sperm donor for Monica and Chandler. The couple invite Zach over to their apartment for dinner to assess his physical and emotional attributes.

“Matthew and I had been friendly long before ‘Friends,’ so when I guest starred as Zach, the prospective sperm donor for Chandler and Monica, I hung with him a lot,” Stamos recalled. “Standing backstage, ready to make my entrance, Matt whispers, ‘The audience is going go crazy when they see you! Get ready for some loud screams.’ I walk through the door… silence. I was so embarrassed.”

“We finish the scene and as I start to slither back to my dressing room and quit showbiz, Matt walks over to the studio audience,” Stamos continued, revealing that Perry told the crowd: “Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for John Stamos! You guys probably didn’t recognize him at first because he’s so much better looking in person!”

“I never forgot that and the world will never forget you,” Stamos added.

Watch Paulson’s full appearance on “The View” in the video below.

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