Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is paying tribute to Matthew Perry, who died Saturday at the age of 54 after an alleged drowning.
Trudeau paid his respects Friends actor on X (formerly Twitter), calling his death “shocking and sad.”
“I will never forget the schoolyard games we played and I know people around the world will never forget the joy he brought them,” Trudeau wrote on Twitter. “Thanks for all the laughs, Matthew. You were loved – and will be missed.”
Perry (whose mother, Suzanne Morrison, was the press secretary for Trudeau’s father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau), went to elementary school with Justin. Perry recalled during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in March 2017 that he and a friend “beat up” the future prime minister while the actor was in the fifth grade.
“We both beat him up. I think he excelled in a sport that we didn’t, so it was pure jealousy,” Perry explained at the time, adding, “I think he was the only kid in school we could beat. … I’m not bragging about this. This is terrible. I was a stupid kid. I didn’t want to beat him up.”
He went on to joke: “I think I played a key role in him reaching such great heights and becoming prime minister. I think he said, ‘I’m going to rise above this and become prime minister’.”
Trudeau, to his credit, expressed a sense of humor about the childhood experience after Perry’s appearance, tweeting nearly two weeks later: “Thought about it, and you know what, who hasn’t wanted to punch Chandler? How about a rematch @MatthewPerry?”
Perry, who was best known for his role as Chandler Bing friends, was found dead in a Los Angeles home on Saturday, TMZ reported, citing law enforcement sources.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told PEOPLE that officers responded to a call at Perry’s address regarding the death of a man in his 50s, but would not confirm the identity of the deceased.
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TMZ was also told it was not foul play, and their sources said emergency responders were called to the residence for cardiac arrest.
Representatives for Perry did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Source: HIS Education