Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry of the television comedy Friends. Photo / Getty Images
Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry of the television comedy Friends. Photo / Getty Images
Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow are the latest members of the Friends cast to publicly break their silence in the wake of Matthew Perry’s shock death – saying it has “cut deep”.
Aniston, 54, became one of her Friends co-star’s closest friends before his death aged54 on October 28 in an apparent drowning incident in the hot tub at his Los Angeles.
Posting a carousel of images and a video clip of her and Perry on Instagram last night, the star heartbreakingly said: “Oh boy this one has cut deep ... Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before.
“We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love. Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply.”
Adding that he was “such a part of our DNA”, the actress said the Friends cast was a “chosen family” that changed the course of their lives.
Touching on the late actor’s memorable characteristic, Aniston said: “For Matty, he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn’t hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard.
She also admitted that since his death, she has been “poring over our texts to one another” which have made her laugh and cry, then laughing again, “I’ll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all. (See the second slide …)
“Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day … sometimes I can almost hear you saying “could you BE any crazier? Rest little brother. You always made my day …”
Aniston’s images included a black and white snap of her and Matthew rehearsing on the set of Friends, as well as a screengrab of a text to him thanking him for making her laugh.
Elsewhere, Schwimmer shared his own touching tribute thanking the star for “ten incredible years of laughter and creativity”.
Adding that he will “never forget your impeccable comic timing and delivery”, Schwimmer also gushed over the generosity of his late pal’s heart adding: “And you had heart. Which you were generous with, and shared with us, so we could create a family out of six strangers.”
Sharing a photo from a Thanksgiving episode in season five of the show titled The One with all the Thanksgivings, Schwimmer said it is one his “favourite moments” with Perry. In the episode the pair filmed a flashback sequence where they wore goofy Miami Vice-style 80s outfits. “Now it makes me smile and grieve at the same time,” the actor heartbreakingly confessed.
“I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around — ‘Could there BE any more clouds?’” he signed off the post.
Lisa Kudrow also posted a moving tribute for her Friends co-star, thanking Perry for “the best 10 years”.
“Shot the pilot, Friends Like Us, got picked up then immediately, we were at the NBC Upfronts,’ the actress, who played Phoebe Buffay, captioned a polaroid picture of her and her late friend..
“Then… You suggested we play poker AND made it so much fun while we initially bonded. Thank you for that”, Kudrow added.
She then thanked Perry for making her laugh so hard her “muscles ached” and “tears poured down” her face.
She continued: “Thank you for your open heart in a six way relationship that required compromise. And a lot of ‘talking.’
The star then thanked her co-star for showing up at the Friends film set even when he wasn’t “well” and still “being completely brilliant.
“Thank you for the best 10 years a person gets to have. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for all I learned about GRACE and LOVE through knowing you.
“Thank you for the time I got to have with you, Matthew”, Kudrow concluded.
The trio’s tributes come after LeBlanc, 56, said in a social media tribute he will “never forget” his friend, while Cox shared her own tribute featuring a behind-the-scenes video of a memorable scene from the show confessing, “I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day.
Perry, who rose to worldwide fame playing wisecracking Chandler Bing on Friends, admitted he was downing a quart of vodka and 55 Vicodin a day in the depths of his drug and drink addictions.
