We’ve seen time and time again how close the six main cast members of Friends are, even after the series — one of the best sitcoms of all time — ended in 2004. Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox, for instance, remain BFFs to this day, and Aniston even said she’d talked to Matthew Perry the morning of his death. For Perry and David Schwimmer, there seemed to be a lot of mutual respect between the actors. Marta Kauffman spoke recently about the compliment the Ross Gellar actor regularly paid to his late co-star, as she recalled how “special” the ensemble was.
The famed NBC comedy celebrated its 30th anniversary this month, which means there’s been a lot of reminiscing going on from the cast, crew and Friends’ best guest stars. The milestone, however, is somewhat bittersweet, as it comes less than a year after Matthew Perry’s death. Series creator Marta Kauffman recalled to TODAY how important Perry’s role as Chandler Bing was to the ensemble, as evidenced by David Schwimmer’s consistent praise. She said of Perry:
He made us laugh every day—David always said he was the funniest man in the room.
Of course, Chandler had some of the funniest lines on the show, but people have said over and over — especially since Matthew Perry’s passing — that the actor was even funnier in real life. David Schwimmer’s high opinion of his comedy likely meant a great deal to Perry, who dropped a bombshell during the cast’s 2021 reunion in admitting just how much pressure he felt to get laughs.
Matthew Perry held David Schwimmer’s performance in similarly high esteem, which The People v. O.J. Simpson actor was surprised to learn, as he recently admitted that Perry was “reserved” with him.
Each member of the cast contributed their own thing to the ensemble, and while everybody has their favorite character — Joey’s quotes about food were hilarious, and Phoebe was hilariously off-beat — Marta Kauffman said it was the combination that made the magic. She continued:
When the six of them got on stage together. I got a chill up my spine and thought, ‘This is something special.’
Fans remain obsessed with Friends (present company included), despite three decades having passed since its premiere. Interest in the iconic TV show is still so high that there’s a Friends-themed game show coming to Max.
However, sources have said the cast isn’t quite sure how to move forward in celebrating the series’ long-lasting success — and the 20th anniversary of its finale — without Matthew Perry. The actor was found dead in his hot tub on October 28, 2023, and it was later determined that he’d drowned after ingesting a large amount of ketamine. He was 54 years old.
Friends still remains one of the most rewatchable shows, and luckily for all of us fans, all 10 seasons are available to stream with a Max subscription, allowing us to honor Matthew Perry’s legacy and witness the love and respect that all six of them had and have for each other.