As you're probably already aware, Matthew Perry passed away at the weekend, aged just 54. It goes without saying that he was most famous for bringing to life the character of Chandler Bing in the massively popular sitcom Friends, and was also notable for starring in movies such as Fools Rush In and The Whole Nine Yards.
Perry was also an avid video gamer, and would regularly post about the games he was playing on his Twitter account. He appeared on The Ellen Show and spoke about how he played Fallout 3 so much that he injured his hand (an admission that would earn him a voice acting credit in Fallout: New Vegas as the character Benny).
Perry's connection with video games stretches back pretty far; in an early season of Friends, Chandler famously interrupts a discussion taking place in front of his laptop with the zinger, "You guys wanna play Doom?" Perry was known for writing some of his own gags for the show, and this could well have been one of his contributions – a joke which shows just how on the pulse the show was when it came to recognising cultural flashpoints (Doom had only just been released at this point).
When Friends ended in 2004, the book Friends 'Til The End: The One With The Whole Ten Years covered every season from behind the scenes. Included at the end were photos of each actor's dressing room – and Perry's is notable for including a TV and several game consoles, including an N64, PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Even during his downtime on the show, he was blowing off steam via video games.
Fast forward a few years, and Perry's love for gaming endured. He caught the attention of the gaming world when he posted about playing Klonoa on the Wii in 2009. He was also photographed playing games with rapper and fellow gaming fan Snoop Dogg.
Perry's struggles with both drugs and alcohol have been famously documented over the years, and he addressed many of his personal demons in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. He became a passionate advocate for rehabilitation, eventually taking the role of spokesperson for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. In his aforementioned book, he talked about his desire to help people in his situation – even if he couldn't always do the same for himself.
Perry's loss is being keenly felt by fans of Friends all over the world, and, at 54, he was clearly taken from us far too young. The death of such a talent is always lamentable, but the fact that Perry was "one of us" and loved video games makes his loss even harder to bear.
RIP, Matthew Perry.