Matthew Perry without Friends: his other major roles
The actor had had some successes in the cinema, and above all quite a few failures on television.
If he will forever be Chandler Bing in the hearts of millions of fans, Matthew Perry was not just the comedian on duty Friends. The actor, who died tragically this weekend at the age of 54, also had a career on the big screen and a host of projects on the small screen. A look back at the filmography of Matthew Perry in a few key dates.
April 1989 : One of the actor’s very first roles in the cinema. Opposite Tony Danza, he plays a young lead in Don’t touch my daughter and totaled more than a million admissions when it was released in France in 1990.
Summer 1997 : While Friends is a worldwide hit, Matthew Perry begins to forge an aura of an ordinary, clumsy and touching seducer. He becomes a rom’com hero who makes Salma Hayek fall in love in Thunderbolt and Consequences, a pure romantic comedy anchored in its time. Then he melts Neve Campbell in One Too Many.
February 2000 : At the height of his fame, he landed a role opposite superstar Bruce Willis in My neighbor the killer. His first theatrical success, with more than $100 million in global box office revenue. From this film a friendship will also be born with Bruce Willis, whom he will invite in Friends just after.
September 2006 : His film career has already foundered with My neighbor the killer 2, huge commercial failure. Matthew Perry tries to revive his career, while Friends has ended. The actor teams up with Aaron Sorkin, creator of To the White HouseFor Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, behind the scenes of a talk show. The series, much appreciated by the press, did not find its audience and ended after 22 short episodes.
February 2011 : Matthew Perry returns to TV with a new sitcom, Mr.Sunshine. New flop, after only 13 episodes.
March 2012 : It becomes a recurring part of The Good Wifestraddling season 3 and season 4.
August 2012 : The actor, still loved by the networks despite the failures, is making a new attempt at a sitcom with Go On. This is another failure. The series ends after 22 episodes.
February 2015 : Matthew Perry finally succeeds in imposing a new sitcom on the American public, with The Odd Couple. Even if it has bad press, this remake of a cult 70’s comedy with a very old school assumed, is renewed by CBS. The series will last three seasons.
April 2017 : His last important role. He plays Ted Kennedy opposite Katie Holmes as Jacqueline Kennedy in a prestige mini-series entitled The Kennedys, a lost kingdom.
December 2021 : This could have been his final appearance, invited by Adam McKay. But before filming his score in Don’t Look Up: Cosmic Denial, Matthew Perry is the victim of a serious health problem which prevents him from filming all of his scenes. So much so that the general he played was cut during editing.
