Chandler Bing

Background:

“Well, I was lucky enough to be involved in about 19 failures at an early age, so I’m realistic about the success I’m having and how quickly it can go away. What's important is to be smart about it.” Matthew Perry

Attractive leading man Matthew Perry had a variety of parts in television sitcoms before finally attaining victory with his role as Chandler Bing in the worldwide hit “Friends” (1994-2004), where he took home a Screen Actors Guild award and received countless nominations. He has effectively transformed the popularity he gained from “Friends” into an increasingly successful film career as a romantic comic lead. Among his notable movie credits are Fools Rush In (1997), the hit comedy The Whole Nine Yards (2000) and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards (2004). He currently stars as Matt Albie in “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (2006) and is set to play Del in the forthcoming The Beginning of Wisdom and Numb (2007).

Perry, who earned $750,000 an episode for “Friends” in 1994, and $5,000,000 for The Whole Ten Yards (2004), is no longer doing Hanes commercials with basketball superstar Michael Jordan. His position has been replaced by actor Kevin Bacon. Off screen, he was rumored to have checked into a drug rehab center for chemical dependency on prescription medication in 1997 and entered a rehabilitation clinic for treatment four years later. As for his romantic life, one of Forbes’ “100 Most Powerful Celebrities” (2003), Perry has been involved with several celebrity beauties like Yasmine Bleeth, Julia Roberts (dated briefly in late 1995 to early 1996) and Renee Ashton (together from 1999-2000). He also dated executive Jamie Tarses (1998), screenwriter Gabrille Bober (2000) and her girlfriend of two years, Rachel Dunn (reportedly separated in July 2005). The dual citizenship actor (Canadian and American) is currently romancing actress Piper Perabo. He currently resides in a 4.5 million dollar home in Los Angeles, which he bought in January 2006. When not working, he loves playing ice hockey, softball and tennis.


Tennis

Childhood and Family:

Matthew Langford Perry was born to John Bennett Perry (actor) and Suzanne Morrison (political assistant who later became a press secretary for Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau) on August 19, 1969, in Williamstown, Massachusetts. His parents separated when Matthew was still a baby. They both remarried, earning Matthew a total of five half-brothers and half-sisters: Marie, Madeleine, Willy, Emily and Caitlin. After the divorce, he lived with his mother in Ottawa, Ontario, until relocating to Los Angeles at age 15 to join his father.

Matthew excelled in tennis as a youth. He once ranked No. 17 in the junior singles category and became a top-three contender in a doubles competition in Canada. At the same time, he developed a passion for acting and participated in numerous school plays. After suffering a shocking loss during a main tennis event in 1984, Matthew decided to quit and focus on acting. He studied at Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California, and Ashbury College in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.


The Whole Nine Yards

Career:

15-yaer-old Matthew Perry moved to Los Angeles with the hope of becoming both a professional tennis player and a working actor. Unfortunately, an upsetting defeat in a 1984 major tennis competition forced the talented player to abandon his sport’s career and focus solely on acting.

Making his TV debut appearance in his father’s show “240- Robert,” at age 10, Perry took on guest roles in ”Charles in Charge” (1985) and “Silver Spoons” (1986) before scoring a regular role in the short-lived comedy “Second Chance” (1987). Spotted by director William Richert while in a restaurant, Perry progressed to the big screen when Richert cast him opposite River Phoenix in the drama/romance A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, in 1988. He continued with a series of TV projects, including the TV movie Dance ‘Til Dawn (1988), before returning to the big screen with the small part of Timothy in the Tony Danza comedy She’s Out of Control (1989). The same year, Perry received a recurring role as Sandy in the popular series “Growing Pains.”
In 1990, Perry was seen as Billy Kells in the serial “Sydney.” Though it was soon cancelled, it marked the beginning of his professional guest-star career, which led to spots in a number of shows, including “Who’s the Boss” (1990) and “Beverly Hills, 90210” (1991). Perry moved to another short-lived series in 1993 when he was cast opposite Marian Mercer in Tim O’Donnell’s “Home Free.” The same year, he played George Westerfield in the made-for-TV film Deadly Relations, starring Robert Urich, Shelley Fabares and Gwyneth Paltrow.

A veteran of short-lived series, Perry finally hit the big time when he was hired to costar in the NBC new sitcom “Friends” in 1994. Playing Chandler Bing from 1994-2004, Perry rose to fame with the massive success of the acclaimed show. With other costars, he was handed a 1995 Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Series and earned five Screen Actors Guild nominations for the same category in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

He also appeared in the comedy Getting In (1994), the James Belushi and Liza Minnelli thriller Parallel Lives (1994, TV) and guest starred in other series like “The John Larroquette Show” and “Caroline in the City” (both 1995). In 1997, Perry’s movie career received a boost when he was cast as the lead for the first time in Andy Tennant’s Fools Rush In. The victorious, romantic comedy also starred Salma Hayek.

The following years, Perry was seen in such films as the chum comedy Almost Heroes (1998, with Chris Farley), the romantic comedy Three to Tango (1999, opposite Neve Campbell and Dylan McDermott), the Jonathan Lynn hit comedy The Whole Nine Yards (2000, costarred with Bruce Willis and Rosanna Arquette), Disney’s The Kid (2000, made an unaccredited cameo as Mr. Vivian) and the comedy romance Serving Sara (2002, starred with Elizabeth Hurley). On TV, he had recurring roles as Attorney Todd Merrick in the well-liked “Ally McBeal” (2002) and offered a memorable guest appearance as Joe Quincy in three episodes of “The West Wing” (2003). Perry’s good performance in the latter earned him a nomination for a 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

“I didn’t cry, but I felt like I was about to for like seven years. There was a sweet moment where my girlfriend and I went for a walk on the stage. That’s something we just have to deal with.” Matthew Perry after filming the final episode of Friends

The same year “Friends” came to an end (2004), Perry reprised his Oz role for the sequel The Whole Ten Yards, re-teaming with Bruce Willis and costarring with Amanda Peet and Kevin Pollak. He returned to TV movies the next year by having the title character in The Ron Clark Story and appearing as a football player in Friday Night Lights Lost Scene.

The 37-years-old actor is making his way back to prime-time with the starring role of Matt Albie in the NBC “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (2006), created by the Emmy-winning The West Wing alumni Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme. The show also stars Amanda Peet, Sarah Paulson, D.L. Hughley and Steven Weber. As for film, Perry is scheduled to play Del in the forthcoming Howard Deutch-helmed The Beginning of Wisdom and join writer/director Harris Goldberg for the comedy film Numb, due for a 2007 release.


Awards:

- TV Guide: Editor’s Choice, 2000
- Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Series (shared award with series cast), Friends, 1995