The 7 Best Matthew Perry Projects That Aren't Friends

As he wrote in his 2022 memoir, "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing," Matthew Perry seemed to have made peace with the fact that his life would be defined by his performance as Chandler Bing on the pop culture-shaping sitcom, "Friends." And he wasn't wrong. In the wake of his tragic, untimely passing, countless articles, retrospectives, and heartfelt essays have been written about the character of Chandler Bing. /Film's own Jacob Hall contributed one of his own, highlighting that "Chandler was the soul of 'Friends.' I knew him for 10 years of his life. I watched him grow up and fall in love. In Chandler, in Perry's performance, I saw a fully realized life." Perry's work on "Friends" is deserving of all of the praise he has received, but Perry was so much more than a sarcastic quote-machine on an extremely popular sitcom. As it turns out, the same guy who delivered lines like, "Until the age of 25, I thought the only response to 'I love you' was 'Oh, crap,'" had the chops to be the romantic lead. The same guy who took 10 seasons to finally grow up and accept adulthood could play a bitter, burnt-out professional on the cusp of a mid-life crisis. Between guest spots on television shows and a handful of impactful film performances, Matthew Perry proved he was capable of bringing characters beyond Chandler to life, and sometimes poking fun at his own legacy in the process. Here are seven of Matthew Perry's most memorable roles outside of "Friends," as chosen by some of the /Film staff.  

For whatever reason, Matthew Perry's film career never quite took off in the aftermath of "Friends." But there is an argument to be made that we missed out on a series of two-handers with Perry and other stars who could have played against him, as evidenced by "The Whole Nine Yards." Directed by Jonathan Lynn, the 2000 dark comedy paired Perry with Bruce Willis, who was still very much in the action-hero phase of his career. Here, Willis was embracing a more understated badass, playing a calm, retired contract killer named Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski who moves in next to Perry's character Oz Oseransky, a mild-mannered dentist in an unhappy marriage.

Perry played the whole thing a bit impulsive at times — not unlike Chandler Bing — but this was by no means a rehash of what he had done on "Friends" for all those years. Seeing him play off of a guy like Willis made the movie a whole lot of fun and, at that turn of the millennium, it's hard to imagine another actor in that role. It could have been — dare I say should have been — a bridge to more similar films from Perry that would have allowed him to flex his unique acting muscles even further beyond what audiences already knew him for. This movie works because Willis was allowed to play dark, brooding, and charming while Perry did the flashier stuff that, ultimately, set the whole thing up for success. Playing against a guy like Willis isn't easy. Perry more than pulled it off. (Ryan Scott)

"Scrubs" always excelled at using broad sitcom humor to deal with painful life experiences and season 4, episode 11, "My Unicorn," was no exception. The episode sees Zach Braff's hapless physician John Michael "J.D." Dorian yet again getting personally involved in his patients' lives, this time trying to convince a man named Murray Marks (Matthew Perry) to donate his kidney to his estranged father (Perry's real-life father, John Bennett Perry). Murray, in classic Matthew Perry fashion, is someone who hides their inner pain beneath a snarky, petulant exterior. In the actor's hands, you quickly get a sense of the hurt the character carries with him from the years of his father neglecting him when he was younger. That he indicates his real beef with his father is that he named him "Murray" is also a pretty funny example of projection (whether it really is an "old person's name," as Murray insists, well, that's certainly up for debate).

In an impressive feat, Perry both directs and stars in "My Unicorn," delivering an episode that blends amusingly zany scenarios (any installment of "Scrubs" in which J.D. nearly gets taken out by a model airplane is doing something right) with some genuine pathos. Whether Perry was working out some of his problems with his real-life father through the lens of a comedy TV show, I could not say. But if so, it sort of feels like the way Chandler Bing would work through his own emotional baggage, doesn't it? (Sandy Schaefer)

In the Zac Efron-led "17 Again," Matthew Perry is the emotional center despite only bookending the film as his adult counterpart. As the miserable 37-year-old father Mike O'Donnell, he starts out in the film as an archetype of every man on the verge of a midlife crisis. After a mysterious janitor turns him back into a teenager, Efron spends the majority of the film in the driver's seat. But when Mike returns as an adult again at the end, Perry elevates the teen fantasy into a mature musing on adulthood, love, and making peace with your lot in life.

Even while donning a high school basketball jersey that's at least one size too small, Perry is mesmerizing. The regret, fear, and disappointment that tacked onto his face in the beginning have woven into his expression, becoming a part of him, but no longer weighing him down. At the same time, he looks rejuvenated, spry, and filled with optimism for the very first time. You completely believe Efron will grow into this man. Mike is still the same flawed dad at the beginning, but we can't help but fall in love with him and his determination to make amends. "You're the best decision I ever made, I just forgot" is an all-time great rom-com line, and knowing "17 Again" was filmed during a tumultuous time in Perry's personal life (and serves as his final film role), the impact of his performance is even more meaningful. (BJ Colangelo)