Jennifer Aniston shared that she didn't understand the level of anxiety her co-star Matthew Perry experienced on the set of Friends. The series follows a group of twenty-something adults navigating their professional and personal lives in New York City. The comedy was praised for its writing and chemistry among its core characters, each of who had a common personality trait that viewers could see within themselves. The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards and won a trophy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002.
The actors co-starred on the NBC comedy series from 1994-2004 alongside Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Lisa Kudrow. The cast became media superstars as the show grew in popularity. Friends was the cornerstone of NBC's must-see Thursday block of programming and its acclaim pushed the cast into the upper echelons of fame and fortune within the television industry. Friends took its final bow on May 6, 2004, when an estimated 51.1 million people tuned in to see the lights go out in Monica's apartment for the final time.
Aniston spoke out in response to Perry's admission during the Friends Reunion on HBO Max that he suffered from anxiety throughout the filming of the series. "To me, I felt like I was going to die if they didn't laugh. And it's not healthy, for sure. But I would sometimes say a line and they wouldn't laugh and I would sweat and just go into convulsions. If I didn't get the laugh I was supposed to get, I would freak out," Perry said. Aniston responded to her co-star's surprise admission in an interview with the Today Show, saying, "I didn't understand the level of anxiety and self-torture (that) was put on Matthew Perry if he didn't get that laugh and the devastation that he felt. Which makes a lot of sense.”
Perry struggled with substance abuse throughout the run of Friends. He has said his memories of the time between season 3 and season 6 were foggy and admitted he doesn't remember much of that period. The actor struggled with a years-long addiction to both alcohol and Vicodin. Perry went to rehab twice and, later, opened his own sober-living facility called the Perry House. He has been sober for several years now.
The Friends cast has remained supportive of one another both personally and professionally. The cast as a whole took almost 16 years to reunite and enjoyed dinner at Aniston's house in late 2019. Aniston's surprise that Perry suffered such insecurities regarding his natural comedic talents echoed the shock of Friends viewers who also were stunned by his statement. Perry's devil-may-care portrayal of the neurotic Chandler Bing seemed so on-point, so fresh, that Aniston's shock at his admission was clearly understandable.
Source: The Today Show