While looking back fondly on her time on Friends, Aisha Tyler recalled the ‘sweet’ thing the late Matthew Perry told her after taping her first episode.
Rewind to 2003, Tyler was doing stand-up comedy and had seen her career in television take off as host of Talk Soup and the reality-dating series The 5th Wheel, when she landed the role of Dr. Charlie Wheeler, the love interest for Ross (David Schwimmer) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc).
After finishing her first episode on the show, she and the others were waiting backstage, where she was going to take her first bow in front of the live audience when Perry casually shared some words of encouragement to her.
‘Right before I went out at the end of my first taping, Matthew Perry leaned in and said, “Get ready for your life to change,”‘ which is something she will forever cherish, during an appearance on the And That’s What You REALLY Missed podcast.
It’s a tradition of sorts for the actors of a sitcom that’s recorded in front of a studio audience to come back out after the final scene to take a bow as a show of thanks and respect.
While looking back fondly on her time on Friends, Aisha Tyler recalled the ‘sweet’ thing the late Matthew Perry told her after taping her first episode; seen in 2004
‘Right before I went out at the end of my first taping, Matthew Perry leaned in and said, “Get ready for your life to change,”‘ which is something she will forever cherish, during an appearance on the And That’s What You REALLY Missed podcast
That little remark by her late co-star ended up having a huge impact on Tyler’s confidence and psyche moving forward with her Hollywood career.
‘It was just such a sweet, generous thing to say,’ Tyler, 53, said. ‘It wasn’t like, “Uh-oh.” He was like, “This is exciting. It’s gonna be exciting for you.” And I never forgot that moment because it really did change my life.’
Mind you, she had little acting experience at the time leading to her audition reading with Schwimmer, and was actually taking acting lessons at the time in 2003.
‘By the time I auditioned for Friends, I had seen every episode of Friends — like every single one,’ she admitted during the podcast, as reported by People. ‘Which didn’t make me confident. It just made me know, well, I know how to tell a Friends joke. But like, am I gonna do it well?’
By being observant while on the Friends set, Tyler was able to soak in all the different acting techniques, nuances and overall creativity.
‘I learned how to tell a joke perfectly just by watching ‘Perry’ work,’ she confessed during the conversation, which appears to have worked considering the outcome.
Tyler maintains she’s still reaping the benefits of the things she learned from her Friends audition, a reading with Schwimmer.
That little remark by her late co-star ended up having a huge impact on Tyler’s confidence and psyche moving forward with her Hollywood career; seen in February
‘It was just such a sweet, generous thing to say,’ Tyler, 53, said. ‘It wasn’t like, “Uh-oh.” He was like, “This is exciting. It’s gonna be exciting for you.” And I never forgot that moment because it really did change my life’; seen in 2004
She has since gone on to star in such TV series as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2004-2005), 24 (2005), Ghost Whisperer (2005-2006), Archer (2009-2023), XIII: The Se
ries (2011-2012), Criminal Minds (2015-2020, 2022-present), as well as serving as co-host of the daytime talk show The Talk (2011-2017), as well as a number films.
Perry, who suffered from severe addictions to drugs and alcohol during his lifetime, was found unresponsive in his hot tub at his los Angeles home, and was pronounced dead in the late afternoon of October 28.
The official cause of death was attributed to ‘acute effects of ketamine’, which is used by doctors to deal with depression and pain management, with buprenorphine, drowning, and coronary artery disease as contributing causes.
The original plan was for Tyler to appear in four episodes of Friends in the role of Charlie, but ultimately she starred in nine, in season nine and 10, making her the first Black person to have a recurring role on the legendary comedy.
In 2003, Tyler landed the role of Dr. Charlie Wheeler, the love interest for Ross (David Schwimmer) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc)
Tyler had little acting experience at the time leading to her audition reading with Schwimmer, and was actually taking acting lessons at the time in 2003
Perry was just 54 when he tragically passed away at his home in Los Angeles in October 2023, which was two decades after they first met during her auditions process.
Tyler, a San Francisco native, went on to describe the late actor as having ‘a gentleness and generosity of spirit that was unparalleled.’
Friends premiere in September 1994, and went on to become one of the most successful sitcoms by the end of its 10-season run in May 2004.
