Friends stars Matt Le Blanc, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer have paid their first individual tributes to their co-star, following his death last month.
ADVERTISEMENTIn a joint statement last month, the whole Friends cast - Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matt Le Blanc and David Schwimmer - described Matthew Perry's death as an "unfathomable loss".
"We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew," the statement said. "We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment - not just to his work, but in life as well. He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart."
Two of the Friends cast paid their first individual tributes to Perry, who was found dead at his Los Angeles home last month at the age of 54, sparking an outpouring of grief from fans across the world.
LeBlanc, 56, became the first to post an individual tribute, sharing pictures of him on set with Perry, as he said on Instagram: "It is with a heavy hear I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favourite times of my life. It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I'll never forget you. Never. Spread your wings and fly brother you're finally free. Much love. And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me.”
A few hours later, Cox shared a clip of her with Perry's character Chandler on Instagram and said she was "so grateful for every moment" they worked together.
"When you work with someone as closely as I did with Matthew, there are thousands of moments I wish I could share. For now here's one of my favourites."
She also revealed a behind-the-scenes story as she said: "Chandler and Monica were supposed to have a one-night fling in London. But because of the audience's reaction, it became the beginning of their love story. In this scene, before we started rolling, he whispered a funny line for me to say. He often did things like that. He was funny and he was kind."
Later today (15 November), Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel in the sitcom, said Perry's death "cut deep" and that she "loved him deeply". Meanwhile, Schwimmer thanked the late actor for "ten incredible years of laughter and creativity".
Aniston wrote in an Instagram post: "Oh boy this one has cut deep... Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I've never experienced before. We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love. Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply. He was such a part of our DNA. We were always the six of us. This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be. For Matty, he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn't hear the 'laugh' he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard. In the last couple weeks, I've been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again. I'll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all. Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying "could you BE any crazier?" Rest little brother. You always made my day."
Meanwhile, Schwimmer, who played Ross in the sitcom, said: "Matty, thank you for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity. I will never forget your impeccable comic timing and delivery."
"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. And you had heart. Which you were generous with, and shared with us, so we could create a family out of six strangers. This photo is from one of my favourite moments with you. Now it makes me smile and grieve at the same time. I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around - 'could there BE any more clouds?'"
Perry's funeral took place earlier this month with his Friends co-stars reportedly in attendance.
A new foundation has been set up in his name promising to continue his commitment to "helping others struggling with the disease of addiction" following his public battles with alcohol and drugs.
