Lisa Kudrow is rewatching ‘Friends’ to keep ‘hilarious’ Matthew Perry’s memory alive
Lisa Kudrow is still grieving the loss of her friend, Matthew Perry.
After not being able to watch herself in “Friends” episodes for years “because it’s too embarrassing to watch yourself,” the “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” star, 60, told the Hollywood Reporter she’s been rewatching the NBC series to “celebrate” Perry.
“If I make it about Matthew, then that’s OK,” Kudrow said.
“And it’s just celebrating how hilarious he was — and that is what I want to remember [about him],” she continued.
While rewatching the show that ran from 1994 to 2004, Kudrow said she’s “laughing out loud” at how funny her cast was in the comedy.
“I’m blown away by Courteney Cox. I’m blown away by [Jennifer Aniston]. Matthew, obviously, is just uniquely hilarious. No one ever knew that cadence or comedic rhythm before him. Matt LeBlanc is hilarious. And David Schwimmer, too. Sometimes I even laugh at what I’ve done,” Kudrow said.
She added, “That’s my own little way of celebrating [the anniversaries], just watching it. But it’s embarrassing. At home, if anyone walks in the room and I’m watching Friends, that’s a horrible look, I think, don’t you?”
Her favorite memories are ones that include the cast spending time together and cracking jokes on set.
“You’re just laughing all day long, basically, in between the scenes, because these are funny people. And especially someone like Matthew, whose goal was: How many laughs can I get in real life every day? So we were always laughing so hard, tears were flying out of our faces,” she recalled.
As for Perry, Kudrow believes “the world is remembering him the way he wanted to be remembered. I think that’s happening [already].”
Perry died in October 2023 at age 54 from the “acute effects of ketamine.” The official cause of death was ruled as accidental.
Perry’s autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office also listed drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine — an opioid — as contributing factors. However, police now believe multiple people should be charged in connection to his passing.
