Matthew Perry (actor)

Matthew Perry
Birth name	Matthew Langford Perry
Born	August 19 1969 (age 38)  Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA

Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is a Canadian/American Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor who is best known for his role as Chandler Bing in the American television sitcom Friends, a part he played for 10 years.

He currently portrays Matt Albie in the NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Biography

Early life

Matthew Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts to an American father, actor John Bennett Perry, and a Canadian mother, Suzanne Perry Morrison (nee Suzanne Langford^[1]), a former press secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He holds dual US/Canada citizenship. His parents divorced before his first birthday. 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, where he got his first acting role in a school production in the seventh grade.

Career

At the age of fifteen, Perry moved from Ottawa to Los Angeles to pursue acting. For high school, he attended the Buckley School in Sherman Oaks. 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 Chances he became noticed on the acting scene. Second Chances ran for only one season. When it concluded, Perry stayed in Los Angeles and made guest appearances on television programs.

In the early 1990s he attempted to secure an audition for the pilot Six of One by Marta Kauffman and David Crane, both of whom he had worked with on Dream On. 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 on what was by then called Friends.

As well as his successful career on Friends, Perry has appeared in films such as Three to Tango, The Whole Nine Yards (alongside Bruce Willis) and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards, Fools Rush In (alongside father, John Bennett Perry), and Serving Sara.

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. His three appearances in that series (twice in the fourth season and once in the fifth) earned him two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2003 and 2004.

After Friends wrapped up, Perry made his directorial debut in an episode of Bill Lawrence's sitcom Scrubs (which he also guest starred in, alongside his father).

In 2005 Perry was in an ad campaign for clothing company, Hanes. The campaign was run with the slogan "Look who we've got our Hanes on now". It featured various other celebrities, including Michael Jordan, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Marisa Tomei, Damon Wayans, and on Spanish-language advertising, Aracely Arambula, and Pablo Montero. In 2006, the campaign added Kevin Bacon and Christina Applegate.

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 for the performance.

In 2006, Perry appeared in the pilot for Aaron Sorkin's new hour-long drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which was announced in the Variety issue of January 26, 2006. Perry plays Matt Albie alongside Bradley Whitford's Danny Tripp, a writer-director duo brought in to help save a failing sketch show. Perry's character is considered to be substantially based on Sorkin's own personal experiences, particularly in television.

Other projects include narrating the audiobook of Douglas Coupland's Microserfs and volunteering as an actor with the Young Storytellers Program. He hosted the 2005 ESPY Awards, which took place on July 13 in Los Angeles.

In 2006 he began filming Numb, a comedy drama about a chronically depressed writer. The film has a tentative release date of 2007.

Personal life

Perry developed an addiction to alcohol and to ease this he then became addicted to Vicodin. He first started taking prescription drugs after a jet ski accident in 1997 and checked himself into Hazelden. In 2000 he was hospitalized with pancreatitis as a result of his addictions. During that summer he lost 20 pounds, appearing noticably thinner during the 7th season premiere of Friends, in a scene that continued directly from the 6th season finale, where he looked healthy.^[2]

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.^[3] His recovery once again caused violent weight fluctuations, which are particularly noticeable in Serving Sara.

He was hospitalized again in 2005 for a reaction to prescription drugs, though few details were released.^[4]

He has dated actresses Yasmine Bleeth, Julia Roberts, and Lauren Graham.^[5]. He is now linked to Meg Ryan, and has been reported to have asked his Friends co-star Courteney Cox Arquette for advice on how to talk to her children.[1] He is the stepson of Dateline NBC correspondent Keith Morrison.^[6] Perry maintains dual Canadian and U.S. citizenship.^[7] He is a hockey fan and often attends his favorite NHL team's, the Ottawa Senators, playoff games.^[3]

Trivia

• Perry is missing part of his right middle finger due to a door-shutting accident in nursery school. [2]
• He is one of only two actors to both star on The West Wing and be mentioned by his real name onscreen. The other was Jimmy Smits.
• Perry is an avid table-tennis player. In the Friends episode "The One in Barbados Part 2", his talent is shown when Chandler expertly wins a game.
• He starred in a promotional instructional video for Microsoft, along with fellow Friends star Jennifer Aniston, to promote the launch of Windows 95. [3]
• In, Treehouse of Horror XII, a halloween episode of The Simpsons, the Simpsons buy an electronic house with a voice and personality. They try out a few voices, one being Matthew Perry's, which, when tested, says: "Yeah, could I be any more of a house," reflecting Chandler Bing.

Major film roles

Footnotes

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