Matthew Perry, who famously played Chandler Bing on “Friends,” died Saturday at the age of 54. The cause of death is apparent drowning.

According to media reports, Perry’s body was found in a jacuzzi on the property of his Los Angeles-area home. Drugs were reportedly not found at the scene, and foul play is currently not suspected.

Perry is best known for his role as Chandler. He played the character for all 10 seasons of “Friends” and starred in each of its 234 episodes of the NBC sitcom, and the 2021 reunion special. His additional credits included “Ally McBeal,” “Home Free,” “The West Wing” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.”

The actor also tried his hand at the big screen more than once. His most memorable film roles included “Fools Rush In” and “The Whole Nine Yards.”

Perry was open about his battle for sobriety over the years. In his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” he revealed that “Friends” costar Jennifer Aniston confronted him about his drinking while the pair worked together.

Born in Massachusetts in 1969 to an American father and a Canadian mother, Perry grew up in Canada as his mother worked as a press aide to Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau. In his bestselling 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry recalled acting up after his father abandoned his family to chase his own dreams of becoming an actor – including bullying a young Justin Trudeau.

At 15, Perry moved to Hollywood, with the hope of reconnecting with his father. It was there he began to enjoy acting, and was eventually spotted at a diner, “charming a bunch of young women”, by director William Richert, who left a note asking him to be in his next movie, A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, alongside River Phoenix.

Friends

Perry was 24 when he started playing Chandler and was relatively unknown, like his co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer; Courteney Cox was known for her role in Family Ties. In a 2019 interview, Friends co-creator David Crane said Chandler was the most difficult character to cast, with actors Craig Bierko, Jon Cryer and Jon Favreau also considered for the role.

Perry was nominated for an Emmy award five times, once for Friends and twice for his role as lawyer Joe Quincy on The West Wing.

During his tenure on Friends, Perry starred in films including Fools Rush In with Salma Hayek, Three to Tango with Neve Campbell and The Whole Nine Yards with Bruce Willis. He also played small roles in Ally McBeal and Scrubs.

Perry’s personal life was blighted by addiction, starting in 1997 when he became addicted to pain medication after a jetski accident. He later claimed to not remember three years of his time on Friends and to spending over $9m on his fight to stay sober.

When Friends ended in 2004, Perry’s next small-screen lead was in Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which was cancelled after one season. In 2009 he starred in hit comedy 17 Again alongside Zac Efron, and later guest-starred on both The Good Wife and The Good Fight.

Perry also led one-season sitcom Go On and a remake of The Odd Couple, which lasted for three seasons. In 2016 he wrote and starred in play The End of Longing, which opened in the West End and later transferred to Broadway.

Matthew Perry

In 2019, he was put in a two-week coma when his colon exploded due to opiate abuse; he underwent 14 surgeries to repair the damage. “At this point in my life, the words of gratitude pour out of me because I should be dead, and yet somehow I am not,” he wrote in Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.

The memoir was a hit with readers and critics, with the Observer’s Barbara Ellen calling it “harrowing and revealing about the juncture where extreme compound addiction collides with mega-celebrity”.

“You have to get famous to know that it’s not the answer. And nobody who is not famous will ever truly believe that,” Perry wrote.