Friends' Matthew Perry Details How He Developed Chandler Bing's Distinct Cadence
The NBC sitcom "Friends" grew to become one of the most famous sitcoms of all time over the course of its ten-season run, making stars out of many of its cast members, including Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox. The story of six people who knew each other, and the trials and tribulations they faced while living in New York City grew legions of fans largely due to its unique characters. A 2021 reunion special also established its enduring appeal since it went off the air in 2004.
One of those characters was Chandler Bing. Played by Matthew Perry, the character became known for a unique delivery style marked by an emphasis on words in unconventional places in the sentence to communicate how he truly felt about any given situation. Chandler's way of speaking became one of the defining aspects of the show, and Perry recently spoke about how he came up with the idea. This is how Matthew Perry developed Chandler Bing's distinct cadence.
Perry had used the speaking style before and knew it got laughs
In his memoir "Friends, Lovers and the Big, Terrible Thing," Matthew Perry spoke about the thought process that went into Chandler Bing's speech pattern on "Friends" (via Deadline).
Perry wrote that, from an early age, he would read sentences in unusual ways, putting the emphasis on words and in places that others didn't. He realized this was a successful way to get laughs, even in situations where he was facing a tough crowd who hadn't laughed for anyone else.
Perry continued that when he was cast in "Friends," he was the last main cast member to get signed. So he decided to use this tried and true method on the show as well. He added that he was confident in the show's writing but knew his delivery could add something extra that would take the jokes to the next level.
He noted that this set him apart from other sitcom characters at the time, especially as his emphasis was coming on words that weren't traditionally the beat of the joke. The show's writers, however, quickly came on board with his delivery style, and Perry learned that writers would sometimes underline certain words, curious to see how Perry would deliver the joke if he put the emphasis there.