Beyond “Friends”, Matthew Perry has appeared in a large number of series and in a few feature films. However, three notable films are missing from his filmography: “Independence Day”, “Lost in Space” and “Don’t Look Up”. Here’s why.
For an entire generation, Matthew Perry will forever remain Chandler Bing, the unforgettable “developer” of Friends and the favorite character of French (TV) viewers. The actor, who tragically died this weekend at the age of 54 and described by the creators of the series as “the funniest person in the room”, left his mark on the history of the American series.
Beyond television, Matthew Perry has ultimately not distinguished himself on the big screen: the romantic comedy One Too Many, the diptych My Neighbor the Killer opposite Bruce Willis, the rejuvenation film 17 Years Again where he shared the same character as Zac Efron… and that’s about it. The American-Canadian actor could, however, have had three notable feature films in his filmography. Find out which…
He refused Independence Day
Warner Bros. /20th Century Fox
Fans of Independence Day (1996) necessarily remember the character of Jimmy “Raven” Wilder, Captain of the US Air Force and Will Smith’s wingman in Roland Emmerich’s film. What they may not know is that the role, played by Harry Connick Jr., was originally offered to Matthew Perry. Chandler’s interpreter declined shortly before filming, leaving the pilot’s seat and the character’s improvisations to the jazzman, whose tour dates could fit in with the filming of a blockbuster.
For the record, the Perry family still participated in the fight against the extraterrestrial invaders, since his father John Bennett Perry plays a small role in the film as a Secret Service agent responsible for the protection of the First Lady Mary McDonnell.
He almost starred in Lost in Space
Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema
Two years later, Matthew Perry misses another science fiction film: Lost in Space (1998). Because yes, we forget it, but between the mother series from the sixties and the 2018 Netflix reboot, there was a film adaptation led by William Hurt, Gary Oldman, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham… and a certain Matt LeBlanc, aka Joey Tribbiani in Friends. The role of intrepid pilot Don West had once been considered for Matthew Perry, who therefore gave way to his “roommate” in the series.
He had to leave Don’t Look up
Backgrid USA / Bestimage / Netflix
In his memoirs, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir / Friends, my loves and this terrible thing (published by the editions Michel Lafon), Matthew Perry share a decision “heartbreaking”. That of having had to abandon the film Don’t Look Up (2021), “the greatest film he would ever have”in which he played a Republican journalist in front of Adam McKay’s camera.
While he had already shot a sequence for the feature film opposite Jonah Hill in particular, and he could have shared sequences with the great Meryl Streep, the actor was forced to withdraw from the Netflix comedy. Indeed, he had suffered a cardiac arrest caused by a combination of hydrocodone and propofol during his stay in a detoxification center in Switzerland:
“I was given the dose at 11:00 a.m. I woke up eleven hours later in another hospital. Apparently the propofol had stopped my heart. For 5 minutes. It wasn’t a heart attack – I was not in asystole – but nothing was beating. I was told that a big Swiss guy really didn’t want the guy from Friends to die on his table and gave me cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for 5 minutes, hitting me and hitting my chest. If I hadn’t been on Friends, would it have stopped at 3 minutes? Did Friends save my life again? It may have saved my life, but it Also broke eight ribs.”.
After this incident, Matthew Perry judged that he was in too much pain to be able to return to the sets. The only scene he shot in Don’t Look Up unfortunately was not part of the final cut.