Jennifer Aniston Tearfully Recalls Special Moment With Costar Matthew Perry When ‘Friends’ Premiered
Jennifer Aniston got sentimental when recalling a special moment from the Friends premiere with late costar Matthew Perry.
“Because I remember the day that it was going to premiere on television, on NBC, Matthew Perry and I were having lunch somewhere,” Jennifer, 55, told Quinta Brunson for Variety’s Actors on Actors in an interview published on Thursday, June 6.
The actress explained that she and Matthew knew their Friends costar Lisa Kudrow was getting her hair colored nearby and decided to “sneak up” on her.
“She was in the sink and I took the nozzle from the guy that was supposed to be doing it and just started washing her hair,” the Marley & Me actress told the outlet. “It definitely flew out of control, and that was unfortunate. But the excitement we had, it feels like yesterday.”
Friends aired for 10 seasons on NBC, from 1994 to 2004. The 30th anniversary of the popular sitcom falls on September 22, just a month before the first anniversary of Matthew's passing.
Matthew was only 54 years old when he was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his Pacific Palisades home on October 28, 2023. The Fools Rush In actor was initially thought to have died from an “apparent drowning,” according to audio obtained by TMZ at the time, but the initial autopsy reports stated his cause of death as “deferred.”
The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner later determined on December 15, 2023, that Matthew died from “the acute effects of ketamine.” The 17 Again actor had undergone ketamine infusion treatment to help with his depression and anxiety just days before his death. However, officials stated that the amount of the drug found in his system at the time of his death was not enough to be fatal because “ketamine’s half-life is 3 to 4 hours, or less.”
Jennifer later revealed that she had been texting Matthew on the morning of his death and mentioned that he had been in great spirits.
“He was happy. He was healthy. He had quit smoking. He was getting in shape. He was happy — that’s all I know,” the Bruce Almighty actress told Variety in an interview published on December 11, 2023. “I was literally texting with him that morning, funny Matty. He was not in pain. He wasn’t struggling. He was happy.”
She continued, “I want people to know he was really healthy and getting healthy. He was on a pursuit. He worked so hard. He really was dealt a tough one. I miss him dearly. We all do. Boy, he made us laugh really hard.”
