JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Paul Rudd Says Matthew Perry 'Didn't Really Know Him' During FRIENDS Cameo: ‘I Don't Know if He...’
Paul Rudd recalls how Matthew Perry welcomed him on Friends with a simple act of kindness, making him feel included on the set.
Paul Rudd is looking back on his time on Friends and the kind gesture from Matthew Perry that made him feel included. In a new interview with WSJ Magazine on April 1, Rudd recalled how Perry invited him to play video games shortly after he joined the cast in 2002.
“I’m not really a gamer. I don’t know if he was either,” Rudd, said. “But I remember thinking, this guy doesn’t really know me at all, and he’s like, ‘Come on in,’ and we’re just playing video games.”
Paul Rudd said this memory stands out when he thinks about Matthew Perry, who passed away in October 2023 at the age of 54. The Friends star died from a ketamine overdose.
Rudd joined the show in its ninth season as Mike Hannigan, Phoebe Buffay’s (Lisa Kudrow) love interest. His character became a key part of the storyline, leading to Phoebe and Mike’s wedding in the final season.
Despite forming friendships with the cast, Rudd acknowledged feeling slightly out of place in the series finale. “I know he has said that he felt a little like, ‘Why am I here? It should be just the six of them,’” co-creator David Crane told WSJ Magazine.
However, Crane and fellow creator Marta Kauffman felt it was important for Mike to be in the last episode. “If you didn’t see him in the episode, it would feel a little bit like TV bulls---,” Crane stated. Kauffman agreed, saying that he was the guy who was going to make Phoebe happy for the rest of her life.
Rudd did not appear in the highly anticipated Friends reunion special on HBO Max in 2021. The special’s director, Ben Winston, stated that the focus had to remain on the six main cast members.
Winston told The Wrap that the reunion couldn't include too many cameos since hundreds of talented actors had appeared on Friends over the years.
He added that the COVID-19 pandemic further complicated things, as some people were unable to travel internationally, while others were busy with filming commitments or restricted by production bubbles.
Even though he missed the reunion, Rudd has been revisiting Friends in a personal way, through his daughter. He told PEOPLE in November 2021 that she had started watching reruns, which brought back memories for him.
Latest Articles
