One Career Struggle That Unites Matthew Perry With John Krasinski

Summary:

• Matthew Perry was an actor best known for his portrayal of Chandler Bing on the hit 90's sitcom Friends.
• John Krasinski first stunned audiences in his role as Jim Halpert from The Office.
• Although they never worked together, the two actors shared a similar struggle of fighting against the storylines they hated on their respective shows.

One frustrating thing about the actors’ work is that they rarely have a say in whatever they are about to perform. Once they’re signed to the project, they have to put their trust in the whole crew of professionals behind the cameras to make them look and sound the best they can.

While the talent and the hard work of the actor are some of the keys to the character truly opening up for the audience, it all won’t be possible without well-written scripts and well-thought-through visuals.

However, just like any other rule, this one has its own exceptions. Some showrunners, writers, and directors are happy to include the cast’s notes and explore their suggestions if the shape the story takes doesn’t feel too authentic. If actors are lucky enough, they may have a say in quite major storylines.

Or they can even save their characters from a complete ruin in the eyes of the audience! That was precisely what Matthew Perry and John Krasinski managed to do for their respective characters in Friends and The Office, Chandler Bing and Jim Halpert.

Two Best Sitcom On-Screen Couples

If you loved Monica and Chandler's relationship on Friends, you should be grateful to Matthew Perry for being so loyal to them. Although we never saw it on screen, the characters came very close to having their sweet marriage ruined by Chandler cheating on Monica. It was Perry who was completely against that idea.

It was actress Lisa Cash who revealed that the cheating scene was supposed to take place in season five, episode 23, The One in Vegas: Part 1. However, Perry was sure that the fans would never forgive Chandler for what he'd done:

“Matthew Perry went to the writers and said the audience would never forgive him, which made a lot of sense. <...> I think it would have really changed how the audience would have (viewed) Chandler and that whole thing. I don’t know if they could have survived it,” she said.

The same thing happened with John Krasinski, because his character Jim was not supposed to be faithful to Pam. To make matters worse, the cheating was supposed to happen while she was still on maternity leave with their first child. At that time of the show, Jim would get involved with the new secretary in the office.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case. According to the book Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office, it was the first time the actor put his foot down and went against the showrunner's word.

These two decisions were a true testament to the actors' loyalty to their on-screen partners, as well as their characters' personalities. If you want to re-watch Friends, you can do so on Max. The Office is available for streaming on Peacock TV.

Source: NBC News, Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office