Matthew Perry Biography

Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is a Canadian-American actor. Perry is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the long-running NBC television sitcom Friends, as well as his portrayal of Ron Clark in the 2006 television movie The Ron Clark Story. Along with starring in the short-lived television series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Perry has appeared in a number of films, including Fools Rush In (1997), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), and 17 Again (2009). In 2010, he expanded his rsum to include both video games and voiceover work when he voiced Benny in the role-playing game Fallout: New Vegas.

Perry was the co-creator, co-writer, executive producer and star of the ABC sitcom Mr. Sunshine, which ran from February to April 2011. In August 2012, Perry began starring as Ryan King, a sportscaster, on the NBC sitcom Go On. The series was canceled on May 10, 2013.

Perry co-created and stars in the 2015 CBS sitcom The Odd Couple portraying Oscar Madison. On May 11, 2015, the series was renewed for a second season. On May 16, 2016, CBS renewed the show for a third season.

Early life

Matthew Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts. His mother, Suzanne Marie Morrison (ne Langford), is a Canadian journalist and former press secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and his father, John Bennett Perry (born 1941), is an American actor and former model. His parents divorced before his first birthday and his mother subsequently married Keith Morrison, a broadcast journalist.

Perry was raised by his mother in Ottawa, Ontario, and was enrolled at Rockcliffe Park Public School and Ashbury College. While growing up, he took a keen interest in tennis and became a top-ranked junior player.

Career

1980s

When he was 15, Perry moved from Ottawa to Los Angeles to pursue acting and attended The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, graduating in 1987. Perry also pursued improv comedy at the LA Connection in Sherman Oaks while still in high school. He went on to play Chazz Russell in the TV series Second Chance. After 13 episodes, Second Chance became Boys Will Be Boys, with the plots refocused on the adventures of Chazz and his teenage friends. After the show's single season, Perry stayed in Los Angeles and made his screen debut in the 1988 film A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon. He went to a 1989 guest appearance on the series Growing Pains, in which he portrayed Carol's boyfriend who dies from injuries sustained in a drunk-driving accident.

1990s

In the midst of his many continuing guest roles on TV, Perry was cast as a regular on the 1990 CBS sitcom Sydney, playing the younger brother of Valerie Bertinelli's title character. In 1991, he made a guest appearance on Beverly Hills, 90210 as Roger Azarian. Perry landed his next TV starring role on the ABC sitcom Home Free, which aired only 11 episodes in the spring of 1993. By then, Perry was making his mark, and was instantly cast in a sitcom pilot titled LAX 2194. The project was slow to take off, so as a back-up option, he attempted to secure an audition for the pilot Six of One, later to be known as Friends, by Marta Kauffman and David Crane, both of whom he had worked with on Dream On. However, because of previous commitments to the pilot LAX 2194, he was not initially considered for an audition. When he did eventually get a reading, he landed the part he is now best known for, the role of Chandler Bing.

The program was hugely successful and Perry, along with his co-stars, gained wide renown among television viewers. The program also earned him Emmy nominations in 2002 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series along with Matt LeBlanc, but he lost to Ray Romano. As well as his successful career on Friends, Perry has appeared in films such as Fools Rush In (alongside father John Bennett Perry and Salma Hayek), Almost Heroes, Three to Tango, The Whole Nine Yards (alongside Bruce Willis) and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards, and Serving Sara.

2000s

While known primarily for his comic roles, Perry has carved out a career in drama as well, particularly in his portrayal of Associate White House Counsel Joe Quincy in Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing. His three appearances in that series (twice in the fourth season and once in the fifth) earned him two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2003 and 2004. Perry is referred to in the show prior to his guest appearance - Donna Moss seeks him out (off screen) in the episode "20 Hours in LA." He also appeared as attorney Todd Merrick in two episodes near the end of Ally McBeal's five-season run, including a 2-hour special intended to revive the legal comedy-drama.

After Friends wrapped up, Perry made his directorial debut in an episode of the 4th season of the American comedy-drama Scrubs, in which he also guest starred as "Murray Marks", an operator of a small airport's traffic control team. Murray is asked to donate a kidney to his father Gregory (played by Perry's real father).

He starred in the TNT movie, The Ron Clark Story which premiered August 13, 2006. Perry played small town teacher Ron Clark who relocates to the toughest class in the country. Perry received a Golden Globe nomination as well as an Emmy nomination for his performance.

In 2006-2007, Perry appeared in Aaron Sorkin's drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Perry played Matt Albie alongside Bradley Whitford's Danny Tripp, a writer-director duo brought in to help save a failing sketch show. Perry's character was considered to be substantially based on Sorkin's own personal experiences, particularly in television.

In 2006, he began filming Numb, a film based on a man suffering from depersonalization disorder. The film's tentative release date was pushed back several times, but was finally released to DVD on May 13, 2008. He also appeared in David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago in London. In 2009, he starred in the film 17 Again playing the older Mike O'Donnell.

In 2008, Perry starred in the offbeat film Birds of America as Morrie Tanager, an uptight man who has to deal with his siblings.

Showtime passed on a pilot called The End of Steve, a dark comedy starring, written and produced by Perry and Peter Tolan.

2010s

Perry's new comedy pilot, Mr. Sunshine, based on Perry's original idea, was bought by ABC. Perry was set to portray a middle-aged man with an identity crisis. ABC canceled the series after nine episodes.

On March 1, 2012, it was reported that Perry had signed on to star on the NBC comedy pilot Go On, written and produced by former Friends writer/producer Scott Silveri. The project was picked up to series in May 2012. Perry portrays Ryan King, a charming yet irreverent sportscaster who tries to move on after the death of his wife through the help of mandatory therapy sessions.

The pilot aired on 8 August 2012 as a "sneak preview" after the 2012 Summer Olympics. The series premiered on September 11, 2012. On October 2, 2012, NBC ordered a full season of 22 episodes. The series was canceled by NBC in May 2013, shortly after the conclusion of its first season.

In 2012, Perry guest-starred on the critically acclaimed CBS drama The Good Wife, as attorney Mike Kresteva. In 2013, he reprised his role in the fourth season.

In 2014, Perry made his British TV debut in the one-off comedy program The Dog Thrower, which aired on May 1 as part of Sky Arts' Playhouse Presents. Perry portrayed "a charismatic man" who enchanted onlookers by throwing his dog in the air. Since February 19, 2015, Perry stars in, co-writes, and is an executive producer of a revival of the sitcom The Odd Couple. The multi-camera comedy airs on CBS. Perry plays Oscar Madison opposite Thomas Lennon as Felix Unger.

Perry is scheduled to play the lead role in a new production of his play The End of Longing, which premiered on February 11, 2016 at the Playhouse Theatre in London.

Personal life

Perry dated actress Julia Roberts from 1995-96 and Lizzy Caplan from 2006 to 2012.

Perry holds dual American-Canadian citizenship.

Perry completed a 28-day program in 1997 for a Vicodin addiction. His weight fluctuated drastically over the next few years and once dropped down to . He lost 20 pounds in 2000 because of pancreatitis. Perry again entered rehab in February 2001 to treat an addiction to opioids (specifically vicodin and methadone), amphetamines and alcohol. Perry was in Dallas, Texas, filming Serving Sara with Elizabeth Hurley when he had such severe stomach pains that he called a local doctor, who advised rehab. Perry flew to Los Angeles and checked into Marina del Rey's Daniel Freeman Hospital. Perry's publicist Lisa Kasteler confirmed his rehab stay.

Perry is a fan of the Fallout video game series. On a 2009 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, he gave DeGeneres a copy of Fallout 3. This prompted Bethesda, the company behind the game, to cast him in the next installment of the series Fallout: New Vegas.

In 2011, as a celebrity spokesperson for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, Perry went to Capitol Hill to lobby members of Congress in support of funding for drug courts.

Perry received a Champion of Recovery award in May 2013 from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy for opening Perry House, a sober living home situated in his former mansion in Malibu, California.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	'	Fred Roberts
1989	She's Out of Control	Timothy
1994	Getting In	Randall Burns
1997	Fools Rush In	Alex Whitman
1998	Almost Heroes	Leslie Edwards
1999	Three to Tango	Oscar Novak
2000	'	Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky
2000	Disney's The Kid	Mr. Vivian	Uncredited cameo
2002	Serving Sara	Joe Tyler
2004	'	Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky
2005	Hoosiers II: Senior Year	Coach Norman Dale Jr.	Short film
2007	Numb	Hudson	Also executive producer
2008	Birds of America	Morrie Tanager
2009	17 Again	Adult Mike O'Donnell

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	240-Robert	Arthur	Episode: "Bank Job"
1983	Not Necessarily the News	Bob	Episode: "Audrie in Love"
1985	Charles in Charge	Ed Stanley	Episode: "The Wrong Guy"
1986	Silver Spoons	Davey	Episode: "Rick Moves Out"
1987-1988	Second Chance	Chazz Russell	21 episodes
1988	Just the Ten of Us	Ed	Episode: "The Dinner Test"
1988	Highway to Heaven	David Hastings	2 episodes
1988	Dance 'til Dawn	Roger	Television film
1989	Growing Pains	Sandy	3 episodes
1989	Empty Nest	Bill aged 18	Episode: "A Life in the Day"
1990	Sydney	Billy Kells	Main cast; 13 episodes
1990	Who's the Boss?	Benjamin Dawson	Episode: "Roomies"
1991	Call Me Anna	Desi Arnaz, Jr.	Television film
1991	Beverly Hills, 90210	Roger Azarian	Episode: "April Is the Cruelest Month"
1992	Sibs		Episode: "What Makes Lily Run?"
1992	Dream On	Alex Farmer	Episode: "To the Moon, Alex!"
1993	Deadly Relations	George Westerfield	Television film
1993	Home Free	Matt Bailey	13 episodes
1994	Parallel Lives	Willie Morrison	Television film
1994-2004	Friends	Chandler Bing	236 episodes
1995	'	Steven	Episode: "Rachel Redux"
1995	Caroline in the City	Chandler Bing	Episode: "Caroline and the Folks"
1997	Saturday Night Live	Himself (host)	Episode: "Matthew Perry/Oasis"
2001	'	Ultrahouse 3000's Matthew Perry voice	Episode: "Treehouse of Horror XII"
2002	Ally McBeal	Attorney Todd Merrick	2 episodes
2003	'	Joe Quincy	3 episodes
2004	Scrubs	Murray Marks	Episode: "My Unicorn"; also director
2006	'	Ron Clark	Television film
2006-2007	Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip	Matt Albie	22 episodes
2008	The End of Steve	Steve Legend	Pilot; also creator and co-executive producer
2011	Mr. Sunshine	Ben Donovan	13 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer
2011	Childrens Hospital	Himself	Episode: "The Black Doctor"
2012-2013	'	Mike Kresteva	4 episodes
2012-2013	Go On	Ryan King	22 episodes; also co-executive producer
2014	Cougar Town	Sam	Episode: "Like a Diamond"
2014	Playhouse Presents	The Charismatic Man	Episode: "The Dog Thrower"
2015	Web Therapy	Tyler Bishop	2 episodes
2015-present	The Odd Couple	Oscar Madison	38 episodes; also developer, writer and executive producer
2017	The Good Fight	Mike Kresteva	3 episodes
2017	The Kennedys: After Camelot	Ted Kennedy

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role
2010	Fallout: New Vegas	Benny

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result
1995	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - with rest of main cast	Friends
1996	American Comedy Awards	Funniest Supporting Male Performer in a TV Series - with David Schwimmer		rowspan=3
1998	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
1999
2000	TV Guide Awards	Editor's Choice - with whole cast along with Jane Sibbett and John Christopher Allen
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		rowspan=8
2001
2002	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Television Actor
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
2003	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	The West Wing
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Friends
2004	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	The West Wing
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor - Comedy	Friends
2006	Satellite Awards	Best Actor in a Series, Drama	Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip	rowspan="5"
	TV Land Awards	Most Wonderful Wedding - with Courteney Cox	Friends
2007	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie	The Ron Clark Story
	Golden Globes	Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
2016	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Comedic TV Actor	The Odd Couple