Lisa Kudrow Didn’t Watch ‘Friends’ Until Matthew Perry Passed Away

It is Lisa Kudrow’s first time conveniently watching herself play Phoebe on Friends, and the actress admits that Matthew Perry’s death is the sole reason. She told Conan O’Brien on a recent episode of his Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast that she could hardly bear watching the sitcom until now.

For Kudrow, it is a way of reliving moments with Perry and celebrating his hilarious nature. She admitted to spending so much time watching Friends that she would run episodes all day long. Kudrow also commended other surviving co-stars and how funny they all were as an on-screen clique.

A few weeks after Perry died at 54 from acute effects of ketamine, Kudrow took to social media to share her heartfelt tribute to the late star, who she thanked for trusting her and showing up at work while struggling behind the scenes. Her lengthy note came with a throwback photo of her posing with Perry, which got nearly 9 million likes from Instagram users.

Months later, Kudrow acknowledged her late co-star yet again, praising his prowess as one of the funniest people she has ever worked with. Last month, she claimed Perry “visits her a lot,” just like her late parents do, noting that some people from the past are sent to guide her and she feels Perry’s presence often.

Conan and Kudrow actually dated from 1988 to 1993, breaking up just before Friends began filming. The podcast host confessed that he was once jealous of Perry thanks to how much Kudrow raved about his sense of humor. Eventually, Conan could not help but agree when he finally watched Perry in action as Chandler Bing.

Perry undoubtedly loved playing Chandler, even writing in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, in which he relayed that he was just like his character in real life. Even the sitcom co-creator David Crane agreed that no one else could play Chandler, and most fans of the iconic show would agree.