'Friends was never going to let him go': Minnie Driver reflects on Matthew Perry's 'inner struggle'
Minnie Driver believes 'Friends' contributed to Matthew Perry's "inner struggle" because he couldn't break away from being known as Chandler Bing.
Minnie Driver believes 'Friends' contributed to Matthew Perry's "inner struggle".
The 'Good Will Hunting' actress forged a friendship with the late actor - who died in October aged 54 - when they starred in a production of 'Sexual Perversity in Chicago' in London in 2003, and she recalled his frustration at being unable to break away from being known as Chandler Bing, his sitcom alter ego.
Writing for The Guardian newspaper, Minnie shared: "That summer, he was also loving exploring this world outside 'Friends' [which finished a year later in 2004], very deliberately living and working as an actor.
"And Matthew, we mustn’t forget, was a very good actor. I recently looked at the reviews for our play – and his were all really good, apart from one. I remember his reaction to it, 'Some people only want Chandler, and I don’t know that I’m allowed to be anything other than that.'
"That character was going to be iconic and beloved for ever, but clearly, there was so much more to him. See the dramatic aspects he brings out in 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip' and the Scott Silveri sitcom 'Go On', exploring talents that were so much deeper and darker.
"But he knew that 'Friends' was never going to let him go. It was a pretty tight yoke.
"Part of Matthew’s inner struggle was that he was so closely identified with a role that was also beloved to him – one that he was so good at. But it also held him in a specific place, so it felt like a tug of war.
"I also think if you struggle with addiction and you have this extraordinary, rarefied life where people love you so completely, it’s always difficult to come to terms with the possibility of your fallibility."
The 53-year-old actress found it "unbearable" to read about Matthew's pain and struggles with addiction, which he candidly spoke about in his 2022 memoir 'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing'.
She wrote: "Since Matthew wrote his beautiful book, everybody knows about his struggles with addiction.
"I found it incredibly hard to read and had to put it down and pick it up again – it felt unbearable, how much he suffered.
"He had been in a good place when we were doing the play, but the thing about him was he was like a light.
"He was one of those people who just made other people feel good. Somehow, they don’t suck you down into their sadness, or their pain, and I know now that his pain was great."
But Minnie was relieved when her friend told her it had helped him to be frank about the "tough stuff".
She wrote: "I last saw him on his book tour last year. It was such a relief hearing him say that by putting all that tough stuff out there, he’d exorcised it in a way.
"I’m incredibly grateful that he got to have the experience of how much people loved that book, and loved him, outside of 'Friends'. Ultimately, it seemed like a positive thing."
