George Clooney Shares A Tragic Matthew Perry Memory About His Friends Success

In the wake of "Friends" star Matthew Perry's death, peers and collaborators across the industry have paid tribute and reflected on the late actor and his career. That includes George Clooney, whose friendship with Perry dates to the latter's teenage years. But while Clooney has plenty of fond memories of Perry, he also has one particularly somber anecdote made all the more tragic by his fellow actor's death.

In an interview with Deadline, Clooney spoke about an interaction he and several of his colleagues had with Perry before the latter's time working on "Friends." "He was a kid, and all he would say to us ... was, 'I just want to get on a sitcom, man. I just want to get on a regular sitcom and I would be the happiest man on Earth,'" the actor recalled. "And he got on probably one of the best ever. He wasn't happy. It didn't bring him joy or happiness or peace."

For some time, George Clooney and Matthew Perry worked on the same lot for their respective NBC series, "ER" and "Friends." Throughout this period, Perry dealt with personal challenges, including addiction, which he both spoke and wrote about candidly before his death.

In the interview with Deadline, Clooney said that Perry's struggles were evident to him as the two worked alongside one another. "It was hard to watch because we didn't know what was going through him. We just knew that he wasn't happy, and I had no idea he was doing, what, 12 Vicodin a day and all the stuff he talked about, all that heartbreaking stuff."

The former Batman star went on to characterize Perry as something of a cautionary tale for other aspiring actors. "It also just tells you that success and money and all those things, it doesn't just automatically bring you happiness," he said. "You have to be happy with yourself and your life."

While Clooney's outlook on Perry's life is ultimately quite tragic, the star still has positive memories of the late actor, especially during Perry's youth. "I knew Matt when he was 16 years old," he said. "We used to play paddle tennis together. And he was a great, funny, funny, funny kid."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).