Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer Pay Tribute to Friends Co-Star Matthew Perry
Paul Dailly
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The Friends cast is coming to terms with the tragic death of Matthew Perry, who passed away on October 28, 2023, in an apparent drowning accident.
Matt LeBlanc and Courteney Cox shared personal tributes to their fallen co-star earlier this week, and now, Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer are speaking out.
"Oh boy, this one has cut deep," Aniston wrote on Instagram Wednesday morning.
"Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I've never experienced before.
"We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love. Being able to really sit in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep.
"And we loved him deeply. He was such a part of our DNA. We were always the [six] of us.
"This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be.
"For Matty, he knew he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn't hear the 'laugh' he thought he was going to die.
"His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh.
"And laugh hard. In the last couple weeks, I've been pouring over our texts to one another.
"Laughing and crying then laughing again. I'll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all."
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"Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain," Aniston concluded.
"I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying, 'Could you be any crazier?' Rest little brother. You always made my day… "
Schwimmer, meanwhile, said he would never forget Perry's "impeccable comic timing and delivery."
"You could take a straight line of dialogue and bend it to your will, resulting in something so entirely original and unexpectedly funny it still astonishes.
"And you had heart. Which you were generous with, and shared with us, so we could create a family out of six strangers.
"I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around — 'Could there BE any more clouds?'"
"This photo is from one of my favorite moments with you. Now it makes me smile and grieve at the same time."
Following Perry's death, Aniston, Cox, LeBlanc, Schwimmer, and Lisa Kudrow penned a joint statement in which they paid tribute to their former costar.
"We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew," the quintet's statement began," the statement reads.
"We were more than just cast mates. We are a family.
"There is so much to say, but right now we're going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.
"In time we will say more, as and when we are able," the statement continued.
"For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty's family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world."
"We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew's passing. It still seems impossible," said co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and EP Kevin Bright shared a joint statement.
"All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives.
"He was a brilliant talent. It's a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew's case, there are no truer words.
"From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us," they added.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
