Lisa Kudrow Said Matthew Perry’s Talent Was ‘Beyond’ Everyone Else on the ‘Friends’ Cast
Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry spent years working together on Friends. The ensemble cast of the show were all friends in real life, and Kudrow still speaks highly about her co-stars. She praised everyone she worked with on the series, but said that Perry’s performance eclipsed the rest of them.
Lisa Kudrow spoke highly of Matthew Perry’s acting
Perry died suddenly in 2023. Kudrow said that she rewatched Friends afterward. She was struck by how funny the show was, and praised her co-stars. She believed Perry was doing particularly good work.
“After Matthew died, I watched the show again,” Kudrow told The Times. “Before, I only saw what I did wrong or could have done better. But for the first time, I truly appreciated just how great it was. I felt I did OK, but Jennifer and Courteney? Amazing. David and Matt? They had me laughing so hard. And then Matthew — he was just beyond us all.”
While she enjoyed the show, she admitted that the rewatch felt painful after Perry’s death.
“Because there was a genius at work,” she said. “And whatever any of us do in the future, we will never experience something like that again.”
Lisa Kudrow wrote a moving tribute to Matthew Perry after his death
After Perry’s death, the Friends cast paid tribute to him. In her post, Kudrow expressed gratitude for having worked with him.
“Shot the pilot, Friends Like Us, got picked up then immediately, we were at the NBC Upfronts,” she wrote, per People. “Then… You suggested we play poker AND made it so much fun while we initially bonded. Thank you for that.”
She wrote that Perry made her laugh to the point of tears every time they were on set.
“Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached, and tears poured down my face EVERY DAY,” she wrote. “Thank you for your open heart in a six way relationship that required compromise. And a lot of ‘talking.’”
She also acknowledged his struggles with addiction.
“Thank you for showing up at work when you weren’t well and then, being completely brilliant. Thank you for the best 10 years a person gets to have. Thank you for trusting me.”
“Thank you for all I learned about GRACE and LOVE through knowing you,” she concluded. “Thank you for the time I got to have with you, Matthew.”
She wrote the foreword to his book
Perry published his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing one year before his death. Kudrow wrote the foreword to the book. In it, she discussed his addiction.
“How’s Matthew Perry doing?” she began. “Over the many years since I was first asked, it’s been, at different times, the most asked question for me. I understand why so many people asked it: they love Matthew and they want him to be OK. Me too. But I always bristled at that question from the press, because I couldn’t say what I wanted to say: ‘It’s his story to tell and I’m not authorized to tell it really, am I!'”
She wrote that his book helped her understand what he had gone through.
“He has survived impossible odds, but I had no idea how many times he almost didn’t make it,” she wrote. “I’m glad you’re here, Matty. Good for you. I love you.”
How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
