Actor George Clooney recently shared some heartfelt memories about his friendship with the late Matthew Perry. The Los Angeles County medical examiner recently revealed that Perry passed away earlier this year due to the acute effects of ketamine. Despite being a part of one of the most successful TV shows of all time, Perry was reportedly not happy.
In a recent interview with Deadline, Clooney, who is now 62 years old, reminisced about the time when he was filming "ER" on a soundstage right next to "Friends," the beloved sitcom that Perry and his five castmates starred on for 10 years. Clooney expressed how much fun it was to watch the "Friends" cast and emphasized the close bond they all shared.
Clooney also revealed that he and Perry had known each other for a long time, even before their respective fame. "I knew Matt when he was 16 years old," Clooney shared. "We used to play paddle tennis together. He's about 10 years younger than me. And he was a great, funny, funny, funny kid."
Clooney Reflects on Matthew Perry's Struggles
Clooney remembered Perry once saying: "I just want to get on a sitcom, man. I just want to get on a regular sitcom and I would be the happiest man on earth."
"And he got on probably one of the best ever," Clooney said, referring to "Friends."
Perry's Struggles with Addiction
"He wasn't happy. It didn't bring him joy or happiness or peace," he continued. "And watching that go on on the lot — we were at Warner Brothers, we were there right next to each other — it was hard to watch because we didn't know what was going through him. We just knew that he wasn't happy and I had no idea he was doing what, 12 Vicodin a day and all the stuff he talked about, all that heartbreaking stuff."
Perry opened up about his struggles with addiction in a memoir published in 2022. In October he was found unresponsive in the hot tub at his Los Angeles-area home. He was 54.
Cause of Perry's Death
The recently released autopsy report said the death was accidental and that no signs of foul play were suspected. "Acute effects of ketamine" was listed as the cause of death, with contributing factors listed as "drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects." Buprenorphine is a medication used to treat opioid use disorder.
Clooney said Perry's unhappiness "just tells you that success and money and all those things, it doesn't just automatically bring you happiness."
"You have to be happy with yourself and your life," he said.
While Perry struggled with addiction, he revealed in a 2022 interview with People Magazine that "Friends" transformed his life in every aspect, and his co-stars provided unwavering support as he battled with sobriety. "It's like penguins," he explained. "In nature, when one is sick or severely injured, the other penguins surround it, prop it up, and walk around until that penguin can walk on its own. And that's what the cast did for me."
Following his passing, numerous tributes from celebrities and fans flooded in for Perry, including heartfelt statements and social media posts from his "Friends" co-stars.
In a recent interview with Variety, Jennifer Aniston shared that Perry was content and in good health at the time of his death. "He had quit smoking. He was getting in shape. He was happy — that's all I know," Aniston stated in the joint interview with Reese Witherspoon, her co-star on "The Morning Show."
Aniston also mentioned that she had exchanged texts with her close friend on the day he passed away. "I was literally texting with him that morning, funny Matty. He was not in pain. He wasn't struggling. He was happy," Aniston revealed.
"I want people to know he was really healthy, and getting healthy. He was on a pursuit. He worked so hard. He really was dealt a tough one. I miss him dearly. We all do. Boy, he made us laugh really hard," Aniston said.
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In a tribute on Instagram, Aniston said Perry loved to make people laugh and his "life literally depended" on hearing people laugh at his jokes.
"And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard," she said.
