Matt Perry is a noted Hollywood actor. Donna Moss attempted to have a conversation with Perry while attending a fundraiser at Ted Marcus's mansion. ("20 Hours in L.A.")
Background
Matthew Langford Perry was born on August 19, 1969 in Williamstown, Massachusetts; yet raised in Ottawa, Ontario. He portrayed Joe Quincy on the West Wing and is the only guest actor to also have been mentioned by name.
Biography
Prior to beginning his acting career, he was a top-ranked tennis player. His parents had separated when he was a baby and he lived with his mother, Suzanne Morrison, who was a press agent for Pierre Trudeau. When he was fifteen years old, he decided to live with his father in Los Angeles, California. His father was an actor and in turn, Matthew became interested in acting professionally. He was active in his high school theater while continuing to play the sport of tennis. Matthew landed minor roles in such 80’s television shows like Silver Spoons, Highway to Heaven and Charles in Charge. Upon graduating from high school he intended to enroll at the University of Southern California; however when an opportunity was presented to him to join the cast of a new television show, he decided not to attend college to pursue acting full time.
Acting Career
The television show Second Chance failed, yet he was able to maintain work by acting in a number of teen films with stars like Alyssa Milano. In 1992, he starred in another doomed sitcom, Home Free, which again lasted only one season. In 1994, Matthew and his longtime friend and writing partner Andrew Hill Newman pitched the pilot for a sitcom called Maxwell’s House, about a group of twenty something friends, to the NBC television network. NBC already had a similar project in the works titled Friends. He auditioned for the show and won the role of Chandler Bing, the terminally wisecracking member of the titular gang of six young New Yorkers.
Personal Problems
Matthew Perry has also made headlines for his personal problems, including a 1997 stint in a rehab clinic after he became addicted to painkillers. In the spring of 2000, in the middle of filming the motion picture Servicing Sara, with Elizabeth Hurley, he was returned to a rehabilitation clinic again, this time for undisclosed reasons. Since then, he has embraced a positive lifestyle and had continued acting in full force.
Awards and Nominations
Emmy Awards
- 2004 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for: "The West Wing" (1999) For playing "Joe Quincy"
- 2003 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for: "The West Wing" (1999) For playing "Joe Quincy"
- 2002 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for: "Friends" (1994) For playing "Chandler Bing"
Screen Actors Guild Awards
- 2004 Actor Nominated Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for: "Friends" (1994)
- 2003 Actor Nominated Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for: "Friends" (1994)
- 2002 Actor Nominated Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for: "Friends" (1994)
- 2001 Actor Nominated Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for: "Friends" (1994)
- 2000 Actor Nominated Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for: "Friends" (1994)
- 1999 Actor Nominated Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for: "Friends" (1994)
Trivia
- Matthew is missing part of his middle finger on his right hand.
- Has dual citizenship in Canada and the USA.
- His favorite NHL team is the Ottawa Senators. He often attends the playoff games in Ottawa, Canada.
Select Filmography
- Numb (2007)
- The Whole Ten Yards (2004)
- Serving Sara (2002)
- The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
- Three to Tango (1999)
- Almost Heroes (1998)
- Fools Rush In (1997)
- Getting In (1994)
Select Television Appearances
Televison Series Roles
- "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"
- "Friends"
- "Home Free"
- "Second Chance"
Guest Starring Roles
- "Scrubs"
- "The West Wing"
- "Ally McBeal"
- "Caroline in the City"
- "The John Larroquette Show"
- "Dream On"
- "Sibs"
- "Beverly Hills, 90210"
- "Who's the Boss?"
- "Sydney"
- "Growing Pains"
- "Empty Nest"
- "Highway to Heaven"
- "Just the Ten of Us"
- "Mr. Belvedere"
- "Silver Spoons"
- "Charles in Charge"
- "240-Robert"