Matthew Perry ‘wasn’t happy’ while filming FRIENDS, reveals George Clooney

Matthew Perry died due to 'acute effects of ketamine' on October 28. Recently, George Clooney shared heartfelt memories of his friendship with the late actor. They worked together in the hit NBC shows ER and Friends.

George Clooney remembers Matthew Perry

In a recent interview with Deadline, George Clooney reminisces about the early days when he and Matthew Perry were "really close" and played paddle tennis together. Perry, 10 years Clooney's junior, expressed a fervent desire to be cast in a regular sitcom. Despite the age gap, the two forged a connection, and Clooney witnessed Perry's determination to make it in the industry.

Perry's dream was to land a role in a sitcom, a sentiment he often shared with Clooney, actor Richard Kind, and filmmaker Grant Heslov. Clooney fondly recalls Perry's singular focus on achieving this goal, highlighting the genuine passion that fueled Perry's journey.

Perry eventually secured a prominent role as Chandler Bing on Friends, one of the most iconic sitcoms in television history. However, despite their professional success, Perry struggled with happiness. Clooney reflects on the challenging dynamic, observing that even though Friends was a major success, it didn't bring Perry the joy and peace he sought.

Matthew Perry died of 'acute effects of ketamine'

The Friends star had been receiving ketamine infusions regularly before his death, but the report noted that the ketamine found in his body came from elsewhere. His last infusion occurred a week and a half before he died, and its half-life is only three to four hours.

“It is more likely this was recreational ketamine use,” Dr. Bankole Johnson, neuroscientists and physicians told Page Six exclusively. “It would be questionable medicine to provide ketamine to someone also using buprenorphine — a true recipe for disaster.”

Perry had previously written about his dislike of ketamine in his 2022 memoir 'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir', saying he often felt like he was “dying” during the treatments he received while staying at a Swiss rehab during the pandemic.

“Taking K is like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel. But the hangover was rough and outweighed the shovel,” he penned.

“Ketamine was not for me.”

In fact, Perry was supposed to be off his infusions before he died, as his anesthesiologist Dr Ataoin (whose name was partially redacted in the autopsy report)‚ said he no longer needed the treatments because “his depression was fine.”

(Inputs from IANS)