David Schwimmer Says Matthew Perry Was 'Reserved With Me'

Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer.

David Schwimmer opened up about his connection with late Friends costar Matthew Perry.

During an appearance on the “Origins With Cush Jumbo” podcast, host Cush Jumbo recalled talking about physical comedy with Perry while working together on The Good Fight.

“I was saying, ‘Is David just someone who just does it? It just comes off of him?’” Cush, 38, recalled on the Tuesday, September 17, episode. “He talked about how it’s not out of control at all, that you’re a linchpin person in a scene that mostly people were always looking to you to know physically what direction things should go in, that without you being the pin, the other things don’t work which I thought was very, very complimentary and probably very true.”

In response, Schwimmer, 57, noted the story was “interesting” to hear “for many reasons.” He added, “That’s a huge compliment and I’m surprised to hear it because Matthew was reserved with me. He would not say that to me, but I appreciate that a lot.”

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Schwimmer explained that he was “one of the few” in the Friends cast who had “rigorous theater training.”

“In this way, in film or anything that’s involving a stunt or anything physical, I think it’s gotta be finely, carefully, choreographed and I would work and work and work on any physical comedy in a scene,” he said. “I would meticulously structure and choreograph it, not only so that I never hurt myself or hurt anyone else but that I could repeat it many, many, many times, so I think that’s what maybe he’s referring to.”

Schwimmer and Perry starred alongside Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Aniston on the hit sitcom Friends, which premiered in 1994. The show came to an end after 10 seasons in 2004.

Nearly two decades later, news broke that Perry died at age 54 of an accidental overdose in October 2023. The autopsy revealed that his death was caused by “acute effects of ketamine.” (Authorities have since announced that five people were charged in Perry’s death investigation.)

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Perry’s former costars mourned the loss in a joint statement to Us Weekly last fall. “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” they noted days after Perry’s death. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”

Schwimmer later shared a sweet social media tribute to Perry. “Matty, Thank you for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity. I will never forget your impeccable comic timing and delivery,” he wrote in November 2023. “You could take a straight line of dialogue and bend it to your will, resulting in something so entirely original and unexpectedly funny it still astonishes.”

He continued: “And you had heart. Which you were generous with, and shared with us, so we could create a family out of six strangers. … I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around — ‘Could there BE any more clouds?’”