‘The ticket for me is helping people’: Matthew Perry on how he wanted to be remembered

Africa-Press – Nigeria. I’ve said this for a long time: when I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned,” said Matthew Perry, the actor who played Chandler Bing on the hit show Friends, in an interview on Q with Tom Power.

Perry, who died on Saturday, 28 October, shared in the 2022 interview that he didn’t want his legacy to mainly be about Friends but that people remember him for his work to raise awareness for drug and alcohol addiction. Perry tried to use his platform to help others who had similar experiences as him.

“The best thing about me, bar none, is if somebody comes up to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking. Can you help me?’ I can say yes and follow up and do it,” Perry said. “I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that.”

“When I die, I know people will talk about Friends, Friends, Friends. And I’m glad of that, happy I’ve done some solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the World Wide Web,” he said.

“But when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people. I know it won’t happen, but it would be nice,” he added.

Perry continued:

Perry talked about his gratitude for the positive things in his life.

“Wonderful things happened in my life – I’m incredibly grateful for all of them,” he shared. “But that’s the ticket for me, is helping people on a large scale or helping, you know, one guy and seeing the light turn on.”

Throughout his career, Perry was open about his addiction to painkillers and alcohol. He also suffered numerous health issues, including a burst colon in 2018.

Perry’s role on Friends as the sarcastic Chandler Bing made him a household name. Friends ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.

Perry, along with his co-stars – Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer – negotiated $1 million each per episode by the end of the show’s run.

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