Photo by Justin Lubin/NBC
Chandler Bing was such a staple of ‘90s television that most fans feel like they really know the actor that portrayed him. But there’s a lot to learn about Matthew Perry, which we found out in a recent conference call interview. Here were some insights that we were surprised to discover about the star of the new comedy Go On.
He Has a Soft Spot for Chandler Bing
“I loved playing Chandler. I grew up playing that part. I would say, probably in all honesty, [my favorite characters are] Chandler and this character that I’m playing now, the character of Ryan King. It’s a very deep, enriching character to play because he’s going through so much and he’s also being very funny about it.”
Could He Have Been more like Chandler Bing?
“I don’t that that is a current trait of mine. It certainly used to be. One of the tenants of Chandler was that given any kind of serious situation, he will divert it by trying to make it a joke. And it makes for a very good character in a sitcom because it’s a built in excuses for someone to be funny.”
Ryan King Is More Grown Up than Chandler
“By Episode 3 or 4, for the most part [Ryan] has realized that he needs this group of people in spite of himself. So he’s less apt to make fun of [his therapy group] now and more apt to take part in it. But he’s a character just like myself that’s a little older, or a lot older, and is less in need of doing that.”
He Knew He Was Funny as a Kid
“I would always be the kid that got in trouble in school, that’s for sure, for joking around. And I guess it was seventh grade I got put in a play in school in Ottawa, Canada. [Greg Simpson] was the head theater guy and he cast me in a role in that and it was funny and I felt so good to get laughs.”
He Recalls One Really Good Day
“I really love doing The Good Wife, I hope that I get to come back and do more. It’s really fun to play a guy who is just so evil… I got Go On and The Good Wife both on the same day and it was a great day. So I’m really happy with how Go On is going and I hope to get to do some more Good Wife’s in the future too.”
He Might Get Behind the Lens on Go On
“If we’re fortunate enough to do a second season, I’ll probably end up doing that. It’s a very, very busy time already and directing is pretty all encompassing. But it is certainly something that I think would be interesting to do somewhere down the line.”
His Favorite Actor is Another Everyman
“My favorite actor was, is Michael Keaton. Certainly growing up, in the movie Night Shift he did something brand new that I hadn’t seen before that we all steal from now. And then it was in 1987 he did the movie Clean and Sober and Beetlejuice in the same year and that was when I said, ‘Wow, that’s what I want to do.’ So I’d have to say Michael Keaton.”
He Picks Good Favorite TV Shows, Too
“I would say The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Honeymooners and Lost.”
He Hopes a Few More Athletes Stop by Go On
“We had asked Wayne Gretzky, I’d love to have on the show at some point. We’ve talked to David Beckham and he said that he would do it, So that was very exciting. My favorite athlete of all time I was lucky enough to have on Mr. Sunshine but maybe we can have him come back on Go On, too, which is Jimmy Connors.”
He Was Afraid of Seth McFarlane’s Saturday Night Live Nod
“He’s hilarious and I didn’t actually think he was making fun of the show. He was more making fun of the guy he was playing. It’s Seth MacFarlane, so if he doesn’t like something, you’re really going to know it. And so I was nervous when I heard that he mentioned the show but quite relieved when I saw what the joke was.”
All of His Go On Co-Stars Are a Little Bit Like Their Characters
“What happens on all great shows is the writers end up writing to the actors who are playing the part. So the charters are becoming more and more like the actors that play them. That’s certainly what happened on Friends and that’s the direction they’re leaning in here. So I’m pretty similar to my guy. Laura Benanti is pretty similar to her character. I’d like to say that Brett Gelman is similar to Mr. K. but I don’t know if any human being on the face of the planet is similar to Mr. K.”
He Knows the Secret to Creating a Successful Character
“You look for people that you can relate to, that you can shake hands with and understand. I have a tendency to try to find characters that are bent or broken and on a path to become better people and Ryan King certainly has those traits. He’s a guy who, if this tragic thing had not happened to him, he would’ve lived his life as a rather unexplored life. But this thing happened to him so he reluctantly gets on this path to be a better person.”
He Loves Comedy and Drama Equally
“I don’t really have a preference between the two. I love doing both. Doing a comedy is potentially more challenging because you’re forced to do a joke a page and you’re forced to be funny at a certain rate. And I’m sure that will surprise most people because most people would think that I would say drama is harder because I’ve have so much experience in comedy. They both pose their challenges. But I actually think doing a comedy is harder than doing a drama.”
Watch Matthew Perry hard at work on Go On every Tuesday night at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. Central on NBC.
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