When Lisa Kudrow first heard Matthew Perry read for Friends’ Chandler, she says that had a double take
The actress said to Conan O’Brien on his podcast, “I never, even in a million years, could have envisioned anyone playing the character like that.”
It’s no secret that Lisa Kudrow was one of the funniest people Matthew Perry had ever worked with, and he obviously felt the same way.
The 60-year-old actress reminisced about the first time she heard Perry read for the character of Chandler Bing on Friends during an episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend on July 22.
“I thought that Chandler character, when I read it, I thought, ‘Oh, they have a gay character, that’s good,'” she laughed. “That’s all I heard, you know.”
She didn’t realize the actor’s brilliance until they were seated and she saw Perry’s portrayal of the sardonic, flamboyant Chandler alongside her Phoebe Buffay.
“I just kind of gave him a second look at the table read, like, ‘Oh my god.'” I could never have imagined somebody performing the role in the same way. Not even in a million years. Along with everything, including his own beat. It belongs to him.
Perfect timing, but it’s also plain [funny].” Aside from being beloved by his fellow cast members and viewers, Perry’s dry humor was also very helpful during one of the most challenging shoots of the show: the famous fountain opening scene.
