Friends star Matthew Perry has revealed that at one stage he “begged” the show’s creative team to ditch one of his character’s most recognisable trademarks.
Matthew is best known to most people for his Emmy-nominated performance as Chandler Bing in the much-loved sitcom, which ran between 1994 and 2004.
Throughout Friends’ early years, Chandler was famous for his very specific cadence when he spoke, of which Matthew joked in his new book Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible: “Could it be more annoying?”
According to Variety, the actor “had to beg the producers” to write Chandler’s lines differently as the show progressed, as well as requesting they ditch his character’s signature sweater-vests.
“[It] had been so played out that if I had to put the emphasis in the wrong place one more time, I thought I’d explode,” Matthew claimed.
“So I just went back to saying lines normally, for the most part in season six and then beyond.”
In his memoir – which was finally released earlier this week – Matthew wrote candidly about his 10 years on Friends, as well as his struggles with addiction and substance abuse throughout his life.
He has also spoken out about his romantic life, disclosing why he ended his short-lived romance with Julia Roberts at the height of Friends’ success, and sharing details of a rather disastrous date with Cameron Diaz.
In a recent interview with Nightline to promote the book, he also shared that he almost missed out on Friends’ reunion special last year after having to undergo emergency dental surgery.