Matthew Perry biography
Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is a Canadian-United States Emmy-, Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild award nominated actor and comedian, best known for his role as Chandler Bing in the popular television sitcom
Friends, a part he played for 10 years. He recently portrayed Matt Albie on the NBC series
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Perry will also appear in the film
17 Again (film), set for a release in 2009.
Early life and education
Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts. His mother, Suzanne Jane Louise Morrison (married and maiden names Langford), is a Canadian journalist and former press secretary to Canada Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau, and his father, John Bennett Perry, is an American actor and former model. Perry holds dual US/Canadian citizenship. His parents divorced before his first birthday and his mother is re-married to Keith Morrison, a broadcast journalist. Perry was raised by his mother in Ottawa. While growing up in Ontario, Perry took a keen interest in tennis and soon became a top-ranked junior player. He was enrolled at Rockcliffe Park Public School, Lisgar Collegiate Institute, and Ashbury College.
Career
1980s
Perry moved from Ottawa to Los Angeles to pursue acting. For high school, he attended The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks. While at Buckley, Perry was featured as George Gibbs in
Our Town and appeared as a junior in a production of
The Miracle Worker. Patty Duke attended and praised the young Perry's convincing role as Helen's brother Jimmy. He was also featured in
The Sound of Music as a junior. In his senior year, director Tim Hillman had planned a production of "The Elephant Man (play)" specifically to feature Perry as John Merrick along with Vanessa Smith, and future Les Misérables star Lisa Capps. He then got his professional break at age 18. On being cast in
A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon with River Phoenix, Perry withdrew from
Elephant Man and ended his high school acting career. Perry also pursued improv comedy at the LA Connection in Sherman Oaks while still in high school, quickly becoming a featured performer.
After some guest appearances in late 1980s television, it was his intention to enroll at the University of Southern California, but when he was offered the lead role of Chazz Russell in
Second Chance he became noticed on the acting scene. Perry originally starred alongside Kiel Martin when the series premiered in 1987, but after 13 episodes the format changed:
Second Chance became
Boys Will Be Boys, Perry was elevated to top-billing status, and the plots re-focused on the adventures of Chazz and his teenage friends. Despite the shift, the show ran for only one season. When it concluded, Perry stayed in Los Angeles and made guest appearances on television programs, such as
Growing Pains and
Beverly Hills 90210 in which he portrayed a suicidal teenager.
1990s
In the midst of his many continuing guest roles on TV, Perry was a regular on the 1990 CBS farcial sitcom
Sydney, playing the younger brother of Valerie Bertinelli's title character. Three years later, he landed his second TV starring role on the American Broadcasting Company sitcom
Home Free (TV Series), which only lasted 13 episodes in the spring of 1993. By then, Perry was making his mark, and was instantly cast in a new dramatic pilot titled
LAX 2193. The project was slow to take off, so as a backup option, he attempted to secure an audition for the pilot
Six of One, later to be known as
Friends, by Marta Kauffman and David Crane (television), both of whom he had worked with on
Dream On (TV series). However, due to previous commitments to the pilot
LAX 2194, he was not initially considered for an audition. When he did eventually get a reading, he landed the part he is best known for, the role of Chandler Bing.
The program was hugely successful and Perry, along with his co-stars, gained wide renown among television viewers. The program also earned him Emmy nominations in 2002 for Primetime_Emmy_Award_for_Outstanding_Lead_Actor_-_Comedy_Series along with Matt_LeBlanc, but he lost to Ray_Romano.
As well as his successful career on
Friends, Perry has appeared in films such as
Fools Rush In (alongside father, John Bennett Perry and Salma Hayek),
Almost Heroes,
Three to Tango,
The Whole Nine Yards (film) (alongside Bruce Willis) and its sequel
The Whole Ten Yards, and
Serving Sara.
2000s
While known primarily for his comedic roles, Perry has carved out a career in drama as well, particularly in his portrayal of Associate White House Counsel Joe Quincy in Aaron Sorkin's
The West Wing (TV series). His three appearances in that series (twice in the fourth season and once in the fifth) earned him two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2003 and 2004. Perry is referred to in the show prior to his guest appearance--Donna Moss seeks him out (off screen) in the episode "20 Hours in LA." He also appeared as attorney Todd Merrick in two episodes near the end of Ally McBeal's 5-season run, including a 2-hour special intended to revive the legal comedy-drama.
After
Friends wrapped up, Perry made his directorial debut in an episode of the 4th season of the American comedy-drama
Scrubs (TV series) (which he also guest starred in, as "Murray Marks" an operator of a small airport's traffic control team. Murray is asked to donate a kidney to his father Gregory, played by Perry's real father).
He starred in the TNT movie,
The Ron Clark Story, which premiered on August 13, 2006. Perry played Ron Clark, a small town teacher who relocates to the toughest class in the country. He received a Golden Globe nomination as well as an Emmy nomination for the performance.
In 2006–2007, Perry appeared in Aaron Sorkin's hour-long drama
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Perry played Matt Albie alongside Bradley Whitford's Danny Tripp, a writer-director duo brought in to help save a failing Sketch comedy. Perry's character was considered to be substantially based on Sorkin's own personal experiences, particularly in television.
In 2006 he began filming
Numb (film), a comedy drama about a chronically depressed writer. The film's tentative release date has been pushed back several times, but was finally released to DVD on May 13, 2008. He also appeared in David Mamet's
Sexual Perversity in Chicago in London. In Q1 of 2009, he will appear in the film 17 Again (film). He is set to co-write, executive produce, and star in a new Showtime series called "The End of Steve."
Personal life
During his work on
Friends, Perry developed an addiction to alcohol addiction. While trying to deal with his alcoholism, he then became addicted to Vicodin. He first started taking prescription drugs after a jetski accident in 1997 and checked himself into Hazelden, a drug rehabilitation. In 2000 he was hospitalized with pancreatitis as a result of his addictions. During that summer he lost 20 pounds, appearing noticeably thinner during the 7th season premiere of
Friends, in a scene that continued directly from the 6th season finale. He has been to numerous rehabilitation centers, including Hazelden in Minnesota, Promises in Malibu, California, California, and a hospital outpatient clinic in Marina del Rey, California, California. Perry also smokes cigarettes.
During the filming of
Serving Sara, Perry checked into rehab. The last 13 days of filming were held up until he was well enough to return. The filming schedule on
Friends was altered so scenes not featuring his character Chandler were shot first. His recovery once again caused weight fluctuations, which are particularly noticeable in
Serving Sara.
He is also an enthusiastic Ottawa Senators sports fanatic, sporting a shirt with the Senators logo in the film
The Whole Nine Yards and often attending playoff games in Ottawa.
Matthew Perry in the news
Tuomey subpoena quashed - Sumter Item
Tuomey subpoena quashedSumter Item, SC - 3 hours agoMiller’s law firm sent a letter Tuesday to US District Judge Matthew Perry, who is presiding over the case, and Perry signed the motion to quash the ...
read moreGenesis holds forum to share challenges ahead - Zanesville Times Re...
Genesis holds forum to share challenges aheadZanesville Times Recorder, OH - Oct 1, 2008As a concerned citizen, Mast attended a special community forum led by Genesis President and CEO Matthew Perry Tuesday evening at Genesis HealthPlex to ...
read moreHTV: Kim Kardashian, Joey Fatone, Matthew Perry, Sharon Stone - Ent...
HTV: Kim Kardashian, Joey Fatone, Matthew Perry, Sharon StoneEntertainment Tonight News - Sep 18, 2008The cameras also caught Joey Fatone, who stopped by celeb hangout Koi for some late night sushi, Matthew Perry driving himself to the Coffee Bean and Sharon ...
read moreTo live and thrive in LA - CanadianBusiness.com
To live and thrive in LACanadianBusiness.com, Canada - Oct 3, 2008Another Canadian-in-Hollywood: Friends co-star Matthew Perry. But Arazm doesn’t dwell on the Perry detail. In a town where who-you-know is an asset more ...
read moreHTV: Miley Cyrus, Jessica Simpson & More! - Entertainment T...
HTV: Miley Cyrus, Jessica Simpson & More!Entertainment Tonight News - Oct 2, 2008Also, Matthew Perry goes out for an iced coffee while Jessica Simpson is bombarded by photographers! Finally, Kim Kardashian talks about what's next for her ...
read more1 medical center, bigger and better - Zanesville Times Recorder
1 medical center, bigger and betterZanesville Times Recorder, OH - Sep 12, 2008"We are not 'closing' Good Samaritan, we are creating a new and expanded medical center," Genesis President and CEO Matthew Perry said Thursday afternoon. ...
read moreFake beach hoodies 'risk lives' - BBC News
BBC NewsFake beach hoodies 'risk lives'BBC News, UK - Sep 8, 2008Matthew Perry, of Hayle Surf Lifesaving Club in Cornwall, has launched a campaign on a social networking site which has nearly 2000 supporters. ...
read moreNo dismissal for Clemson lawsuit - Daily Journal
No dismissal for Clemson lawsuitDaily Journal, SC - Sep 17, 2008By Matt Wake (Contact / Staff Bio) On Tuesday, US District Judge Matthew Perry declined dismissal of the suit, brought on by Eugene Troutman, ...
read moreWU's Watkins earns honor - Topeka Capital Journal
WU's Watkins earns honorTopeka Capital Journal, KS - Sep 29, 2008Emporia State kicker Matthew Perry was special teams player of the week, making a school-record four field goals in a 19-18 loss to Missouri Southern. ...
read moreTaxman looking closely at GPs' trusts - 6minutes
Taxman looking closely at GPs' trusts6minutes, Australia - Sep 24, 2008Matthew Perry, a financial adviser for Terry McMaster, said, that for GPs, the issue concerns service trusts which, prior to investigation by the ATO in ...
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