- Matthew Perry wished to be remembered beyond his role in Friends as a kind and helpful person
- Chandler Bing's character closely mirrored Perry's real-life personality and humor
- Perry died in 2023 from ketamine effects and drowning, with fans remembering him through Chandler Bing
"I needed to realise that when I died, I wanted my Friends credit to be way down on the list of things I had accomplished."
Everyone's dearest Matthew Perry wrote this in his memoir - Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing - while reflecting on the changing definition of success after years of addiction, recovery, and personal struggles. He wanted people to remember him as a loving, kind, and good-hearted human being who gave back to society and helped people like him.
While promoting his memoir, he appeared on the Q with Tom Power podcast, where he reiterated the same thing, but in slightly different words. The host asked him what the best thing about him was. He said, "The best thing about me is that if somebody comes up to me and says, 'I can't stop drinking, can you help me?' I can say, 'Yes,' and follow up and do it."
A few seconds later, he added, "When I die, I don't want Friends to be the first thing that's mentioned. I want that to be the first thing mentioned, and I'm going to live the rest of my life proving that."
People who have read his memoir will understand why he said it. His dear friends, family, and the lives he touched will probably remember him as the funniest, kindest, and most loving human being. However, Chandler Bing's fans will always remember Matthew Perry from Friends, and there is no better day than today, his birth anniversary, to decode why.
Why Chandler Bing's Fans Mention Friends When They Speak About Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry's struggle with alcohol was bigger than anything else in his life. It would not be incorrect to say that it even overshadowed many of his accomplishments. He himself confessed to not remembering shooting three seasons of Friends.
Die-hard fans can actually make out the seasons in which he was visibly struggling, and, of course, the other five cast members knew about his battle with addiction. But the fact that, despite all his struggles, he managed to keep the charisma of Chandler Bing alive makes the character unforgettable.
The most devoted fans of the show felt a connection with him. While they could not have understood it while the show was running, through reruns and public information about his battle with addiction, they felt even more connected to the character of Chandler Bing.
The lives Matthew Perry changed through sobriety support may remember him differently, but television is public and permanent. When Matthew Perry shared his wish in his memoir, even he probably did not contemplate that he had touched millions of lives around the world as Chandler Bing - a charismatic, soft-hearted, and funny man who makes jokes when he is uncomfortable but makes everyone feel at home with his presence.
For The World, Matthew Perry And Chandler Bing Are The Same Person
In older interviews, the cast and crew of Friends confessed several times that only Matthew Perry was allowed in the writers' room. In fact, some bloopers suggest that he used to work on lines to make them funnier if they didn't land as well as everyone hoped.
When you read his memoir, despite how dark and twisted parts of it are, you cannot help but chuckle at the jokes the actor wrote at the expense of the 'Big Terrible Thing' he fought throughout his life.
Therefore, when it comes to joking at his own expense, Matthew Perry and Chandler Bing are the same for fans. In fact, the first statement in the prologue of his memoir reads: "Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead."
It further blurs the line between the actor and the character because the author mentioned in detail how his character was similar to his real self. He wrote that while reading the script of Friends, he noted, "It was as if someone had followed me around for a year, stealing my jokes, copying my mannerisms, copying my tired yet brilliant world view... It wasn't that I thought I could play Chandler. I was Chandler."
Even After His Death, Why Does The World Remember Matthew Perry As Chandler Bing
On September 22, 1994, the first episode of Friends, "The Pilot," aired, and the rest is history. What that show became, the benchmarks it set, and the insurmountable love it received have never been and will never be replicated.
Many shows came before and after Friends, but beyond the number of live viewers it attracted and the reruns it enjoyed in multiple languages, what continues to define the show is what it means to its fans. This does not make it immune to criticism for not ageing well and for featuring fatphobic and homophobic jokes. However, the flawed characters continue to resonate with audiences.
Chandler Bing was just a character on paper. Surely, the showmakers had a vision for him, but when Matthew Perry stepped in, he made him unforgettable. Could he have been any more charming?
He was the epitome of soft masculinity, and he owned it. He was the greenest forest, a man who struggled with commitment issues until he started dating Monica and became the "most committed guy" on screen.
The character, despite his traumatic childhood, turned out to be the kindest soul, standing beside his friends through thick and thin, along with his famous quote: "I'm not great at the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?"
From his most bizarre reasons for not going on a second date with someone, to getting back together with Janice multiple times, to starting a new career after 30, or being the stronger partner while dealing with infertility issues, Chandler Bing's character arc continues to make him one of the most relatable characters for both old and new fans of the show.
On October 28, 2023, Matthew Perry was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home, and an autopsy later revealed that the acute effects of ketamine and accidental drowning were the causes of his death. For his fans and loved ones, the world stopped making sense for a while, but eventually, people went back to watching Friends because that is as close as they can get to knowing Matthew Perry.
People who never met Matthew Perry, did not attend his recovery meetings, receive his help, or witness his personal acts of kindness, their relationship with him has been mediated through television, mostly Friends.
Chandler Bing is how they experienced Matthew Perry. For many fans, remembering him as Chandler is not a refusal to honour his wish but the only way they know how to remember him. Friends also allows them to remember him as a happy man rather than confront the reality that, behind the scenes, he was struggling.
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