In which project did Minnie Driver and Matthew Perry work together? Actress remembers late friend, speaks about his 'pain'

In an emotional obituary in the Guardian on December 18, actress Minnie Driver paid tribute to actor and her late friend Matthew Perry. Driver remembered some of her happy moments with Matthew Perry in the obituary. Regarding the same, she said,

“He was one of those people who just made other people feel good. Somehow, they don’t suck you down into their sadness, or their pain, and I know now that his pain was great.”

Twenty years ago, Driver and Perry co-starred in a London staging of David Mamet's S*xual Perversity in Chicago.

S**ual Perversity in Chicago was a play by David Mamet about pursuing love and its frequently unexpected consequences. It was performed at the Comedy Theatre. Kelly Reilly and Hank Azaria also worked in the same, alongside Matthew Perry, Minnie Driver, and Kelly Reilly, who were in the lead roles. Perry played the role of Danny in the play, Kelly played Deborah, and Driver played Joan.

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Minnie Driver recently opened up about the deceased actor Matthew Perry and their friendship

Minnie Driver worked alongside Matthew Perry in S**ual Perversity in Chicago (Image via Associated Press)

When the late actor and Driver co-starred in a 2003 production of S**ual Perversity in Chicago, they became friends. Driver mentioned that they had met before Perry's stage appearance. During the play's preparations, they became closer, and Perry, who died at 54, had lunch with Driver's family during that period.

Writing for The Guardian newspaper, the Good Will Hunting actress shared that Perry was “one of the quickest people you would ever come across” in conservation.

Talking about Perry, she continued,

“Ruthlessly funny in the ways he’d react to people. He wouldn’t let you get away with anything. Invariably, I would tell really long stories and he’d always do this brilliantly timed bit where he’d nod off in the middle — so funny — but he wasn’t mean in any way. He was the most self-deprecating person and really kind. Anyone who asked him for help, he would help."

In addition, Driver also remembered how frustrating it was for him to be stuck as his sitcom alter ego, Chandler Bing. She thought that Perry's "inner struggle" was influenced by Friends.

About the same, she stated,

“Part of Matthew’s inner struggle was that he was so closely identified with a role that was also beloved to him – one that he was so good at. But it also held him in a specific place, so it felt like a tug of war."

Addressing the time when Minnie Driver worked with him in S**ual Perversity in Chicago, she recalled,

“He had been in a good place when we were doing the play, but the thing about him was he was like a light."

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Perry passed away on October 28 at the age of 54 due to "acute effects of ketamine" combined with buprenorphine, which is an opioid-like medication used to alleviate pain and treat opioid addiction.

From 1994 to 2004, he portrayed Chandler Bing on the NBC comedy Friends for ten years, for which he was most recognized. He openly battled depression and substance abuse both during and after his time on the show.

During the peak of his career, Matthew Perry experienced such difficulty that after filming Chandler and Monica Geller's wedding in Season 7, he was once driven straight to rehab.

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In his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, published in 2022, he candidly discussed his battles with depression, anxiety, and sobriety.