Sarah Paulson Recalls How ‘Generous’ Matthew Perry Helped Her Land an Acting Role

Sarah Paulson has fond memories of her late co-star Matthew Perry. The 48-year-old American Horror Story actress appeared on Tuesday’s episode of The View where she was asked about her experience working on the short-lived series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip alongside Perry. 

“I just remember him as one of the most generous people on the planet,” Paulson said of the Friends star.  

She recalled auditioning for the Aaron Sorkin show, saying that at the time she “needed that job very desperately.”

Perry and Paulson had a mutual friend in actress Amanda Peet, who had co-starred in Perry’s 2000 film, The Whole Nine Yards, and as a favor to Peet, Perry gave Paulson some additional coaching for her audition. 

“He asked me to meet him in the parking lot for my final audition and I got in his car and he ran the whole scene with me multiple times so I could have a leg up on the other performer,” Paulson recalled of Perry. “And I did get the job. I absolutely credit him with taking that extra time, and he absolutely did not need to do that.” 

She added that the comedian was someone others wanted to impress. 

“He was just the kind of person that if you made him laugh or you made him smile, you felt like you had really arrived,” she shared. “I had the great pleasure of making him laugh a couple of times, and it made me feel really good. He is a wonderful guy.”

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ran for one season from 2006 to 2007. 

Perry died at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28. He was 54. The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that the actor was found unconscious in a stand-alone jacuzzi, and despite efforts to revive him, he was declared deceased before first responders arrived. An initial autopsy by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner was inconclusive, pending a toxicology report for confirmation of the cause of death.

In the weeks since his death, there has been an outpouring of love for Perry from his friends and former co-stars.

Perry’s illustrious Hollywood career spanned decades, with his most notable role being Chandler Bing on Friends from 1994 to 2004. This week, all of his Friends co-stars, including Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc, have paid tribute to him on their social media accounts following his private funeral service on Nov. 3, which they all attended. 

Watch the clip below for more. 

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