Mathew Perry: The death of a friend

Some of the greatest roles in the history of cinema and television have happened accidentally. Sometimes, an actor who is ideally cast ends up departing at the eleventh hour, and then the perfect one saunters in - Tom Selleck would have made a great Indiana Jones; his replacement, Harrison Ford, ended up being the perfect Indy. Similarly, Albert Finny as TE Lawrence would have been inspired by casting but Peter O’Toole ‘became’ Lawrence of Arabia. In the pantheon of great second-bests, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing beats the others. Perry’s Chandler Bing in Friends became the rock on which the sitcom rested; yes, one can say that the other story tracks might have been more sitcom-friendly, but Perry’s charisma and his brilliant comic timing elevated it to a completely different level. What is interesting is how Matthew Perry almost didn’t get the role; he was attached to another show, and what makes it more intriguing is that he practically coached a close friend of his to audition for the same role. It is now the thing of legends that David Schwimmer was the only member cast without an audition. Everyone else tried for multiple roles – Courtney Cox tried for Rachel Green, Lisa Kudrow pitched for playing Rachel Green too, Téa Leoni was offered Rachel Green’s role, Ellen DeGeneres was offered Phobe and Vince Vaughn for Joey, etc., and many came close to playing Chandler Bing. The front-runners included Jon Cryer, who later featured on Two and a Half Men, and Craig Bierko, whom Perry coached as he was, he was still attached to another series. Jon Favreau, the director of Iron Man, Jungle Book, was pitched the role but declined on multiple occasions. He would later feature as Monica Geller’s rich boyfriend, Pete Becker. It was when Perry’s other show failed to take off, and his schedule opened that he approached Friends and ended up playing the role that would cement his reputation as one of cinema and television’s greats. Perry’s wit was nearly in sync with Chandler Bing to such an extent that for several seasons, the writers would invite him to sit in while they were fine-tuning the episodes. Perry’s ease, laid-back attitude, and near-laconic approach translated Chandler Bing into someone whom the audiences could identify the best with. He was curious about the societal changes while not being overwhelmed by things that didn’t make much sense. In that aspect, he gave voice to a generation of fans, and the legacy continues. Looking at the outtakes and bloopers on social media and the Internet offers a great insight into Perry’s approach to playing Chandler Bing – you can’t make out where Bing ends, and Perry takes over. The success of Seinfeld in the 1990s laid the foundation of the golden era of television, which began with The Wire and The Sopranos and later Breaking Bad and Mad Men. While there is little argument that Seinfeld started it all, Friends, too, comes a close second. One of the big factors for this is Chandler Bing, and therefore, by extension, Perry, for creating as real a character that network television could allow in the era. Chandler Bing was also written as possibly gay, and the show’s creators were okay with that arc continuing. This is why Chandler, despite having it all, rarely gets a steady girlfriend for nearly half the series’ 10 seasons. The camaraderie with Joey Tribbiani, too, a hat tip to male bonding, and the ease with which Perry’s Bing continues to be at the receiving, too, gives an understanding of Chandler Bing could have tanked had it not been for Perry. Had it been some other actor besides Perry, the Chandler-Monica romance, which was initially planned as a one-off by the writers as nothing exciting enough was happening with these two characters, might not have become the mainstay of the show towards the latter half of its run. Chandler Bing is the most interesting character in the Friends line up, and this can be validated by how life turned out for the actors who played the six characters once the show ended. Only Perry and Jennifer Anniston went on to have a great run on the big screen. While Aniston was talked more about for her marriage to Brad Pitt, a gross injustice to her acting chops, Perry’s films have aged brilliantly - The Whole Nine Yards and Only Fools Rush In remain a treat to watch. Perry is also why Bruce Willis agreed to feature in Friends – during the filming of The Whole Nine Yards, Willis lost a wager, and the payoff was that he would appear in Perry’s show. In the films, Perry’s infectious effervescence reminded of Chandler Bing, but he created a template for the romantic happy-go-lucky guy who was screwed over by situations and scenarios quite brilliantly. He reminded you of the legendary Jack Lemmon, so it is hardly surprising that he would go on to feature in the TV remake of The Odd Couple. It becomes even better to know that in the TV series, Perry reprised the Walter Matthau role. At the same time, Lemon was portrayed by Thomas Lennon, who incidentally featured as Joey’s ‘hand twin’ in an episode of Friends.  Years after the show ended and subsequent generations of fans discovered Chandler Bing, millions learnt about Perry’s addiction to painkillers and substance abuse during the filming of Friends. In a heart-wrenching revelation, Perry shared how he had practically sleepwalked through a couple of seasons under the influence of painkillers and cocaine. His autobiography Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing revealed the burden of stardom that Perry felt on his shoulders, and he also shared that he rarely watched the show after it went off air as the only thing it would remind him of was the darkness of addiction. Matthew Perry’s debilitating condition, he underwent 12 surgeries and visited rehab over 15 times, rendered it near impossible for him to carry on acting at the same level. However, his death at 54, an age when his contemporaries like Aniston, Matt Leblanc and David Schwimmer are getting ready to hit the high notes of their second innings, is a significant loss. The writer is a film historian. Views expressed are personal. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.