Matthew Perry Almost Passed on Auditioning for His Star-Making Role as Chandler Bing on Friends

Matthew Perry almost didn’t get the chance to play Chandler Bing Friends.

The actor – who reportedly died aged 54 on Saturday – recalled how he almost missed out on being a part of the NBC comedy during an appearance at the 2015 Late Night with Seth Meyers. Perry recalled how he was desperate for a job in 1994 after his “terrible” manager told him he had “no money”.

“This was the year that Friends he was shot, but I wasn’t on the market because I got a job on a pilot LAX 2194 it was about baggage handlers at the LA airport in 2194,” he explained.

Matthew Perry in ‘Friends’.

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Matthew Perry dead at 54 after apparent drowning

“So I was wearing a futuristic shirt,” he added. “And the little people played aliens where I had to sort out their luggage and it was actually a show.”

While he was committed to the role of LAX 2194he recalled how he got the script for Friendsadding, “It was hilarious and great.”

“There was one part that was perfect for me and it was driving me crazy that I couldn’t take it because [of] shown by the baggage handlers,” he added. “I was losing my mind.”

Matthew Perry. Taylor Hill/Getty Friends and colleagues of Matthew Perry react to his death: ‘Shock and sadness prevail’

However, his plans changed when a Fox executive was watching LAX 2194 and called it “the worst thing we’ve ever seen in our lives.”

He recalled the CEO saying, “He’s available. You can hire him for your small so-called performance Friends like us which he then became Friends.”

Perry starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow for 10 seasons on the NBC comedy, which ran from 1994 to 2004.

In his memoirs from 2022. Friends, lovers and the big scary thinghe remembered praying for his life to change weeks before auditioning for Friends.

“About three weeks before my audition for FriendsI was alone in my apartment on Sunset and Doheny, on the 10th floor — it was very small, but it had a great view, of course — and I was reading in the paper about Charlie Sheen,” he wrote to Insider. “He said that Sheen’s in trouble again for something, but I remember thinking, Why does he care – he’s famous.”

David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow in ‘Friends’.

Warner Bros. Television

Remembering the life and career of Matthew Perry in photographs

“Out of nowhere, I found myself getting on my knees, closing my eyes tightly and praying. I’ve never done this before,” he added. His prayer included, “God, you can do anything you want to me. Just please make me famous.”

“Three weeks later I got the role Friends. And God certainly kept his side of the bargain — but the Almighty, being the Almighty, didn’t forget the first part of that prayer,” he said, apparently referring to his addiction and health issues.

Perry was found dead of an apparent drowning at a home in Los Angeles 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