Matthew Perry (actor)

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For the United States naval officer, see Matthew Perry (naval officer).

Matthew Perry
Image:Photo matthew perry.jpg <tr><td style="text-align:left;">Birth name</td><td>Matthew Langford Perry</td></tr>
Born	August 19 1969 (age 40) Williamstown, Massachusetts Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States
Notable roles	Chandler Bing in Friends Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky in The Whole Nine Yards and The Whole Ten Yards Matt Albie in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969 in Williamstown, Massachusetts) is a Canadian-American Emmy-nominated actor who is best known for his role as Chandler Bing in the American television sitcom Friends, a part he played for 10 years.

He currently portrays Matt Albie in the new NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

1 Family and early life
2 Career
3 Future
4 Trivia
5 Major film roles
6 External links

[edit] Family and early life

Matthew Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts to an American father, actor John Bennett Perry, and a Canadian mother, Suzanne Perry Morrison (a former press secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau). He holds dual US/Canada citizenship. His parents divorced before his first birthday. Perry was raised by his mother in Ottawa. While growing up in Ontario, Perry took a keen interest in tennis and soon became a top-ranked junior player.

He was enrolled at Rockcliffe Park Public School, Lisgar Collegiate Institute, and Ashbury College, where he got his first acting role in a school production in the seventh grade.

[edit] Career

At the age of 15, Perry moved from Ottawa to Los Angeles to live with his father and start an acting career. After some forgettable guest appearances in late 1980s television, it was his intention to enroll at the University of Southern California, but when he was offered the lead role of Chazz Russell in Second Chances he became noticed on the acting scene. Second Chances ran for only one season. When it concluded, Perry stayed in Los Angeles and made guest appearances on television programs.

In the early 1990s he attempted to secure an audition for the pilot Six of One by Marta Kauffman and David Crane, both of whom he had worked with on Dream On. However, due to previous commitments to the pilot LAX 2194, he was not initially considered for an audition. When he did eventually get a reading, he landed the part he is best known for, the role of Chandler Bing on what was by then called Friends.

As well as his successful career on Friends, Perry has appeared alongside big Hollywood names in films such as Three to Tango, The Whole Nine Yards (alongside Bruce Willis), The Whole Ten Yards, Fools Rush In (alongside father, John Bennett Perry), and Serving Sara.

While known primarily for his comedic (almost slapstick) acting, Perry has carved out a career in drama as well, particularly in his portrayal of Associate White House Counsel Joe Quincy in Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing. His three appearances in that series (twice in the fourth season and once in the fifth) earned him two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2003 and 2004.

Image:Perrystudio60.png

After Friends wrapped up, Perry made his directorial debut in an episode of Bill Lawrence's sitcom Scrubs (which he also guest starred in, alongside his father).

He starred in the TNT movie, The Ron Clark Story, which premiered on August 13, 2006. Perry played Ron Clark, a small town teacher who relocates to the toughest class in the country.

In 2006, Perry appeared in the pilot for Aaron Sorkin's new hour-long drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which was announced in the Variety issue of January 26, 2006. Perry plays Matt Albie alongside Bradley Whitford's Danny Tripp, a writer-director duo brought in to help save a failing sketch show. Perry's character is considered to be substantially based on Sorkin's own personal experiences, particularly in television.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Future

In 2006 he began filming Numb, a comedy drama about a chronically depressed writer. The film has a tentative release date of 2007.

[edit] Trivia

The reason the character name is Matt on Studio 60 is that Sorkin stated he only thought of Perry to play the part.
Perry is missing part of his right middle finger due to a door-shutting accident in nursery school.[1]
He is the only actor to both star on The West Wing and to be mentioned by his real name onscreen.
Perry maintains dual Canadian and U.S. citizenship.
He has struggled for years with prescription-drug and alcohol addiction.
He is a huge hockey fan. His favorite NHL team is the Ottawa Senators and he often attends their playoff games.
Perry hosted the 2005 ESPY Awards, which took place on July 13 in Los Angeles.
He dated actresses Yasmine Bleeth, Julia Roberts, and Lauren Graham.
His image has appeared in every episode of the Friends spin-off Joey. Joey has a picture of himself and Chandler in his new apartment.
Perry is an avid table-tennis player. In episode 'The One in Barbados Part 2', Perry's talent is shown after Chandler finishes Monica's game of ping-pong with Mike, after she hurts her hand. To Monica's surprise, Chandler plays very well.
Perry was the youngest cast member of Friends.
He was mentioned in the December 2005 short film Lazy Sunday, starring Saturday Night Live cast members Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg, as the answer to the movie trivia question, "What Friends alum starred in films with Bruce Willis?" (The Whole Nine Yards, The Whole Ten Yards, and The Kid)
Perry has received more Emmy nominations for his guest appearance in three episodes of The West Wing than for his entire career on Friends.
Perry turned down the role of Captain Jimmy Wilder in the movie Independence Day. It later went to Harry Connick, Jr.^{[citation needed]}
He recorded the abridged audiobook version of Microserfs, a book by Douglas Coupland.
He is the stepson of Dateline NBC correspondent Keith Morrison.
Perry speaks French.
Perry has volunteered as an actor with the Young Storytellers Program.
He starred in a promotional instructional video for Microsoft, along with fellow Friends star Jennifer Aniston, to promote the launch of Windows 95.

[edit] Major film roles

Year	Title	Character	Additional
2007	Numb	Hudson	post-production
2006	The Ron Clark Story	Ron Clark	telemovie
2004	The Whole Ten Yards	Nicholas 'Oz' Oseransky
2002	Serving Sara	Joe Tyler
2000	The Whole Nine Yards	Nicholas 'Oz' Oseransky
1999	Three to Tango	Oscar Novak
1998	Almost Heroes	Leslie Edwards
1997	Fools Rush In	Alex Whitman