Matthew Perry knows he isn't a spring chicken anymore — the young admirers of Friends do not. During his visit to the AOL Build Speaker Series on Tuesday, Matthew shared the common misconception that the series' new generation of fans have when it comes to him. "Because of Netflix a lot of kids are watching and wondering why I look so old," the 46-year-old, who was 25 when the series debuted in 1994, shared. For the next ten years, Matthew became a household favorite as Chandler Bing before the show wrapped in May 2004.
Matthew Perry says new Friends why wonder why he looks so old Photo: Getty Images
And finally 12 years later, the stars of the show, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc, came together to honor director James Burrows for a NBC Special. Though Matthew was unable to be there in person, he did reassure fans, "It was just six people getting together for Jim Burrows," and it was not in fact a Friends' reunion.
If he could have joined his co-stars on stage, he would have, but he has been busy pulling double duty with the production of his play, The End of Longing, which he wrote and stars in, in addition to, writing and starring in the CBS comedy The Odd Couple, alongside Thomas Lennon.
Matthew and co-star Thomas Lennon talked about The Odd Couple Photo: Getty Images
When it comes to finding the balance between the stage and the small screen, Matthew shared that he handles it pretty well, despite being pretty drained. "We shot the The Odd Couple from August to September, then we started rehearsals in January for the play, so basically I’m very tired. I’ve done about 80 performances and we have about 80 left and it’s been very rewarding."
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He continued: "The funny thing about being the playwright is that you can change the lines whenever you want without telling the other actors," he quipped. "So I try to sort of crack the other actors up by changing the dialogue around."
Matthew wrote and stars in The End of Longing Photo: Getty Images
Though he is enjoying his time on stage in London, Matthew doesn't see the Great White Way calling any time soon. "I can’t really think of a character that I would want to play," he shared during the fan Q&A about coming to Broadway. "I hate musicals so I would probably not be in one of those. I don’t buy it when people break into song for no reason. West Side Story, being the weirdest one with the two gangs that are going to kill each other, but sing and dance before it. I can't do it."
Catch Matthew on season two of The Odd Couple when it airs Thursday, April 7 at 8:30 pm on CBS.
