Zac Efron Addresses Co-Star Matthew Perry’s Death and Playing Him in Future Biopic (Exclusive)

Zac Efron is opening up about comments the late Matthew Perry once made about wanting the 36-year-old star to play him in a future biopic.

Efron walked the red carpet at the Dallas premiere of his new wrestling biopic The Iron Claw, at the The Texas Theatre on Wednesday, and he spoke with ET’s Cassie DiLaura about Perry’s tragic death.

“Matthew is, you know, the best guy in the world,” Efron shared. “I had the best time of my life working with him.”

The pair starred together in the 2009 comedy 17 Again, in which Efron played a teenage version of Perry’s character.

A close friend of Perry’s, Athenna Crosby — who dined with the actor a day before his death — told ET in an interview earlier this month that the actor “said that he wanted to make a movie about his life,” and hoped to ask Efron to play a younger version of him — echoing their past shared roled.

“I heard that, it’s a huge honor,” Efron told ET. “To think he was thinking of me for that role, I mean I would be honored to do it, to be honest.”

Crosby spoke with ET on Nov. 1, and shared, “He had worked with Zac Efron in the past on a movie, and he said that he wanted Zac Efron to play him as a younger version [of himself] and that he was gonna ask him soon to do that. He was just looking forward to sharing more about his story and his recovery from addiction, and really championing that cause to help more people, so he was so optimistic and happy about everything that he wanted to do.”

Perry was found dead in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 28. He was 54, and is survived by his parents, John Bennett Perry and Suzanne Morrison.

ET has since learned that the actor was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, not far from Warner Bros. Studios where he filmed Friends. The funeral was held Friday afternoon and was attended by his family and friends, including his former cast members Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.

Efron’s new film, The Iron Claw, hits theaters Dec. 22.

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