Sarah Paulson Thanks Matthew Perry For Helping Her Nail The Studio 60 Audition

Sarah Paulson has added her voice to the legions of celebrities remembering the life of Matthew Perry. During an appearance on "The View," Paulson credited Perry with helping her win the part of Harriet Hayes on Aaron Sorkin's NBC drama, "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." Perry had already been cast as writer Matt Albie when Paulson was auditioning, and she says he went out of his way to help her land the part by personally rehearsing with her in advance of her final audition.

Paulson explains that she was at a point in her career where she desperately needed to book this particular job. "He, because of his friendship with Amanda Peet, who was my best friend at the time and was also on the show — they had done a movie together called 'The Whole Nine Yards,'" Paulson recalled. "So he asked me to meet him in the parking lot for my final audition and I got in his car and he ran the whole scene with me multiple times so I could have a leg up on the other performer. And I did get the job."

Perry passed away unexpectedly at the age of 54 on October 28, 2023. Since his death, countless co-stars have volunteered stories highlighting his character, culled from his 44-year acting career. In her "View" appearance, Paulson praised him, saying, "He was just the kind of person that if you made him laugh or if you made him smile you felt like you had really arrived."

"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" was Aaron Sorkin's first project after wrapping seven seasons of his hit political drama, "The West Wing." The series, which was inspired by the behind-the-scenes world of a weekly sketch comedy show like "Saturday Night Live," was actually one of two similar premises to premiere in the fall of 2006. Less than a month after "Studio 60" debuted on the network, NBC released "30 Rock," Tina Fey's sitcom take on the same idea. "Studio 60" lasted for one season before being canceled in early 2007. Meanwhile, "30 Rock" ran for seven seasons, wrapping in January 2013.

Sorkin took a more personal approach to "Studio 60" than he did with "West Wing," basing Matthew Perry's character Matt Albie — the show's head writer — on himself. Sarah Paulson's character, Harriet Hayes, was based on actress Kristin Chenoweth, whom Sorkin dated on and off after his 2005 divorce.

"Friends" had only been off the air for two years when "Studio 60" premiered and Perry originally turned down the role. But Perry was Sorkin's only choice to play the part of the outspoken, troubled writer, and Sorkin refused to take no for an answer. One of the chief commonalities both Sorkin and Perry shared with the character is a history of drug dependence — as the 22-episode season progresses, Matt Albie is shown to have an issue with prescription pills, an addiction that Perry also faced. Sorkin struggled with drugs throughout the '90s and was arrested in 2001 when he was found with marijuana, magic mushrooms, and crack cocaine.