Friends' Matthew Perry Lost an Old Friend Because of His Success on the Show
It was a weird story, but Friends’ Chandler Bing lost one of his best friends over the role in the series…even though they were supportive of each other during the casting.
When Friends was only starting out, it was very different from what it is now. Not only was it initially called Friends Like Us but it was also just another small-budget experimental sitcom no one really expected to blow up like it did. Today, it’s a cult classic series; back then, it was but another audition for many actors.
Matthew Perry, the actor who ended up playing Chandler Bing in Friends, was among the aspiring actors who tried to get on board — and he wasn’t alone since some of his buddies were auditioning for the role of Chandler, too. For Perry, there wasn’t a question of whether a career was more important than friends: he chose friends.
Despite feeling like the part of Chandler was written for him specifically, the young actor didn’t use it to his advantage. He was cheering up his pals and training them to become “true Chandlers” since he felt this character so well. Perry ended up being the top pick for the role but was unavailable at the time, unfortunately.
His friend Craig Bierko, on the other hand, was willing to step up: following Matthew Perry’s advice, he bagged the role of Chandler for himself. But soon, it turned out that Perry was in fact available to play the character, so Bierko ended up stepping down and having his pal take the part back. Bierko himself then joined another show.
Sounds awesome, doesn’t it?
It could’ve been a great story about true friendship, but as Friends blew up and became a global phenomenon, Matthew Perry was launched into international stardom — and at the same time, Craig Bierko’s series remained under the radar. Bierko was frustrated and, despite stepping down on his own, pissed at Perry.
The Chandler Bing actor later revealed to Policy & Politics that his old friend refused to even speak to him for two full years. This doesn’t make sense, really — but according to Matthew Perry, even though they were so supportive of each other during the auditions, he lost Craig Bierko’s friendship over Friends.
Source: Policy & Politics via YouTube