How The Friends Cast Reacted When They Found Out About Matthew Perry’s Death

As fans continue to mourn his passing, many are waiting to hear the Friends cast reaction to Matthew Perry’s death. The actor—who passed away at the age of 54 on October 28, 2023—starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer on the beloved sitcom for a decade.

Tributes for the actor have continued to pour in on social media since news first broke of his passing. Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, along with series director Kevin Bright, issued a heartfelt joint statement following Perry’s unexpected death. “We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing,” the trio wrote. “It still seems impossible. All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives.”

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“He was a brilliant talent. It’s a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case, there are no truer words. From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us,” their tribute continued. “We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment — not just to his work, but in life as well. He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart.”

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing’ by Matthew Perry

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The trio ended their statement with a somber play on the series’ episode titles: “We send all of our love to his family and friends. This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken.”

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News of Perry’s death broke on Saturday, October 28, 2023 after the Fools Rush In actor was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his home in California. The county’s medical examiner confirmed the actor’s death the following day, revealing that an investigation into his death was currently “open” and that an autopsy had been scheduled to determine how Matthew Perry died. According to an initial report by the Los Angeles Times, there were no signs of foul play.

How did the Friends cast react to Matthew Perry’s death?

While the main cast of Friends has yet to release a public statement about Perry’s death, an industry source revealed to Page Six that Perry’s former co-stars are “reeling” over the news of his passing and are preparing to release a joint tribute to their friend.

“The cast is reeling from the loss of their brother, because that’s what Matty was — their brother,” the source shared. “It’s just devastating.”

The source went on to add that they are all leaning on each other at this time. “The entire cast are close, they will be devastated, because they were together through the best of times and worst of times,” the insider said, adding, “And when Matty was sick, they protected him, they looked him after him fiercely.”

Director James Burrows revealed that he texted the girls of Friends about their good friend’s death. “I had texted the girls the day we found out,” shared on the Today show on Thursday, November 2. “They were destroyed. It’s a brother dying.”

Perry starred on Friends alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer. The series, which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004, launched all six of them into the limelight. Schwimmer, Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, and LeBlanc also released an official statement on October 30. “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” the cast said in a statement to People. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”

The statement continued, “In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”

But more than fame, the group came away with relationships that went beyond their onscreen friendships. Perry, who was open about his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction throughout the years, was always supported by his costars on his journey toward sobriety.

His cast mates were “understanding, and they were patient,” he wrote in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir. “It’s like penguins. Penguins, in nature, when one is sick, or when one is very injured, the other penguins surround it and prop it up. They walk around it until that penguin can walk on its own. That’s kind of what the cast did for me.”

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Jennifer Aniston, who starred as Rachel Green on the series, remained especially close with Perry following the series’ end. “She was the one that reached out the most. You know, I’m really grateful to her for that,” Perry told Diana Sawyer in 2022.

In his memoir, Perry also revealed that Aniston was the first person in the cast to call him out when his alcoholism became obvious on the set of Friends. “‘I know you’re drinking,’ she said,” Perry wrote, recalling the day that Aniston confronted him in his trailer. “‘How can you tell?’ I said. I never worked drunk. ‘I’ve been trying to hide it.'” However, Aniston revealed that it was clear to the entire cast: “‘We can smell it,’ she said, in a kind of weird but loving way, and the plural ‘we’ hit me like a sledgehammer,” Perry added.

Other Friends co-stars have since paid tribute to Perry, including Maggie Wheeler, who played Janice, the on-again-off-again girlfriend to Perry’s character, Chandler Bing. “What a loss,” the actress wrote on Instagram. “The world will miss you Mathew Perry. The joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared.”

Morgan Fairchild, who made guest appearances as Chandler’s mom on the series, took to X (formerly Twitter) to share her condolences. “I’m heartbroken about the untimely death of my ‘son’, Matthew Perry. The loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock,” she wrote. “I’m sending love & condolences to his friends & family, especially his dad, John Bennett Perry, who I worked with on Flamingo Road & Falcon Crest.”

Friends, Lovers, and The Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing’ by Matthew Perry

$18.99 Buy Now at amazon

For more about Matthew Perry, read his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. The New York Times bestseller takes readers through Perry’s life and career, from his childhood dreams of becoming an actor to how he was cast in Friends to his struggle with addiction and his stints in rehab. “Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead,” Perry writes in the book. Told in his own words for the first time ever, the memoir is an “unflinchingly honest, moving, and uproariously funny” account of Perry’s trials and triumphs. Described as an “unforgettable memoir that is both intimate and eye-opening,” Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is a must-read for Friends fans.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, help is available. Call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for free, confidential support.

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