This weekend marked a huge milestone for one of the best sitcoms in TV history, as September 22 was the 30th anniversary of Friends’ premiere on NBC. Fans most assuredly celebrated one of the most rewatchable shows on TV by streaming reruns with their Max subscriptions or reminiscing about their favorite Friends quotes. However, for at least one guest star, the memories that were conjured weren’t all that pleasant. Tate Donovan was actually going through a breakup with Jennifer Aniston when he played her crush Joshua, and he recalled how Matthew Perry supported him through the heartbreak.
Tate Donovan appeared in five episodes of Season 4 as Joshua, a recent divorcé who hires Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) as his personal shopper to help him buy a whole new wardrobe. On the show, Joshua was oblivious to Rachel’s feelings for him, while in real life emotions ran high, as the couple had just quietly ended their two-year relationship. Donovan told the Independent that Matthew Perry was so nice to him when he was going through it, saying:
It meant so much to me [that he was kind on set] because I was really heartbroken, and you don’t know how well you’re doing, and you’re just trying to survive at that point. It’s such a tragedy that he had such a difficult time in life because, for me, Matt Perry was just... they all imitated his humour.
Matthew Perry died nearly a year ago, drowning in his hot tub after taking a large amount of ketamine. Tate Donovan had only glowing things to say about Perry, as The O.C. actor regularly hung out with the Friends cast for the duration of his and Jennifer Aniston’s relationship. Donovan continued:
Looking back at it now, the thing that just kills me is that Matt Perry was the beating heart of that whole cast. He was the funniest. When you do a sitcom, you do your scenes and then you get out – you don’t really pay attention to the other scenes. But Matt Perry watched every scene that everyone was in. He certainly watched every scene that I was in. He was such a champion of mine. He was so sweet. He was the only one who called me when me and Jen broke up. And we ran into each other throughout the years, and he was always so incredibly supportive.
It might seem odd that Tate Donovan took on the role of Joshua during such a delicate time, but he explained that he thought working together might ease the pain of the breakup and get them into the friendship zone quicker. I’m not sure how successful a plan that was, as he said:
It was very tough. Everyone was so supportive, but it was hard. It’s like going to class when you’re in high school and you’ve broken up with the girl who you sat next to and… argh, it’s tough.
That does sound heartbreaking, and he said for a long time he couldn’t watch those episodes back because it was too painful. He since has seen his work and is proud of the performance he gave.
Tate Donovan is not the first Friends guest star to recall how kind Matthew Perry was. John Stamos said he was saved from a huge embarrassing moment by the Chandler actor, and Marlo Thomas shared a sweet memory of how Perry supported her when she was cast as Rachel’s mother.
It certainly is strange to celebrate such a big Friends milestone without Matthew Perry, but the actor wanted to be remembered for helping people, and we’re continuously learning about new ways in which he did just that.