“It brought him neither joy nor peace.” George Clooney says Matthew Perry wasn't happy on the set of Friends

George Clooney said in an interview with Deadline that Matthew Perry, who died at the end of October, was not really happy on the set of the cult series Friends, which brought him worldwide fame. "He wasn't happy. This brought him no joy, no happiness, no peace.”

According to Clooney, who knew Matthew from the age of 16, the actor dreamed of getting into a sitcom. "I've known Matt since he was 16. We played padel tennis together. He is about 10 years younger than me. And he was a wonderful, funny kid. And all he said to us, that is, to me, Richard Kind and Grant Heslov, was: “I just want to be on a sitcom, man. I just want to get on a regular sitcom and become the happiest person on earth." And he probably achieved one of the best results in history."

However, Perry, according to Clooney, never found happiness. “It was hard to watch the series because we didn’t know what was really happening to him. We just knew that he was not happy,” the actor said, adding that much became known after the release of Perry’s memoirs, where he spoke in detail about depression, drug and alcohol addiction.

“And it just goes to show that success and money and all that stuff doesn’t automatically bring you happiness. You should be happy with yourself and your life,” Clooney concluded. The actor himself gained popularity almost at the same time as Matthew Perry after, simultaneously with the TV series “Friends,” The series "Emergency" was released, where Clooney played the main role.

Matthew Perry died at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 55, his body was discovered in a jacuzzi by his assistant. It is noted that no drugs or alcohol were found at the scene. It later became known that the actor died from the “acute effects of ketamine,” a drug used to treat depression and also as a recreational drug.