Emotional moment Matthew Perry thanked ‘special’ co-stars in Friends reunion goes viral after star’s death

In the recent Friends reunion, Matthew Perry shared what his co-stars meant to him, in an emotional clip that has gone viral in the wake of the actor’s death.

Speaking about the impact his fellow Friends stars had had on his life, Perry thanked them for all they had done for him and attempted to describe their bond.

“The best way I can describe it is, after the show was over, if we were at a party and one of us bumped into each other, that was it. That was the end of the night,” he said in the special reunion episode, which nearly one million Kiwis tuned in to watch in May 2021.

Here’s my favorite moment from the ‘Friends’ reunion in 2021 - Matthew Perry talking about the special bond he shared with his co-stars: pic.twitter.com/q2q2e1KPWr

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) October 29, 2023

“You just sat with the person all night long. You apologised to the people you were with but they had to understand you had met somebody special to you and you were going to talk to that person for the rest of the night.”

Matthew Perry spoke about how important his Friends co-stars were to him. Photo / X

“It’s so true,” co-star Courteney Cox replied, visibly emotional.

“It’s certainly the way it worked with all of us. It’s just the way it is,” Perry continued. “I’m gonna cry now,” he adds, as Jennifer Aniston reaches out to comfort him.

Jennifer Aniston comforted Matthew Perry as he attempted to describe what his Friends co-stars meant to him. Photo / X

Perry, who masterfully played Chandler Bing in the show’s 10 seasons, died on Saturday (US time) at his home in Los Angeles.

Perry was reportedly found in a spa pool at the residence, featured in his last ever Instagram post, which he’d shared just days earlier.

The star, who was 54, is believed to have drowned hours after a game of pickleball, and in a redacted 16-second recording of a 911 dispatch call obtained by TMZ, a man can be heard saying “rescue 23″ and “drowning”.

An autopsy is pending and the coroner is reportedly prepared to do a toxicology examination, but the results could take several months.

Fans flooded social media to pay tribute to the star and praise his performance as Chandler Bing in Friends where he featured in 234 episodes.

“Matthew Perry was able to put a smile on my face when no one else could,” one shared. “I hope he knows he made an impact on a lot of people,” another fan wrote.

The actor was vocal about his struggles with alcoholism and addiction and wrote that he would like to be remembered not only for his career but also for how he helped others fighting the same fight.