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Matthew Steven Perry (born August 19, 1969) is a Canadian-American Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actor and comedian, best known for his role as Chandler Bing in the hugely popular television sitcom Friends, a part he played for 10 years. He recently portrayed Matt Albie on the NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Perry was born in Williamstown, MA. His mother, Suzanne Jane Louise Morrison (nee Langford), is a Canadian journalist and former press secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and his father, John Bennett Perry, is an American actor and former model.

1980s

Perry moved from Ottawa to Los Angeles to pursue acting. For high school, he attended The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks. While at Buckley, Perry was featured as George Gibbs in "Our Town" and appeared as a junior in a production of "The Miracle Worker". Patty Duke attended and praised for the young Perry's convincing role as Helen's brother Jimmy. He was also featured in "The Sound of Music" as a junior. In his senior year, director Tim Hillman had planned a production of "The Elephant Man" specifically to feature Perry as John Merrick along with Vanessa Smith, and future Les Miserables star Lisa Capps. He then got his professional break at age 18. On being cast in "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon" with River Phoenix, Perry withdrew from Elephant Man and ended his high school acting career. Perry also pursued improv comedy at the LA Connection in Sherman Oaks while still in high school, quickly becoming a featured performer.

After some guest appearances in late 1980s television, it was his intention to enroll at the University of Southern California, but when he was offered the lead role of Chazz Russell in Second Chance he became noticed on the acting scene. Perry originally starred alongside Kiel Martin when the series premiered in 1987, but after 13 episodes the format changed: Second Chance became Boys Will Be Boys, Perry was elevated to top-billing status, and the plots re-focused on the adventures of Chazz and his teenage friends. Despite the shift, the show ran for only one season. When it concluded, Perry stayed in Los Angeles and made guest appearances on television programs, such as Growing Pains and Beverly Hills 90210.

1990s

In the early 1990s he attempted to secure an audition for the pilot Six of One, later to be known as Friends, by Marta Kauffman and David Crane, both of whom he had worked with on Dream On. However, due to previous commitments to the pilot LAX 2194, he was not initially considered for an audition. When he did eventually get a reading, he landed the part he is best known for, the role of Chandler Bing.

The program was hugely successful and Perry, along with his co-stars, gained wide renown among television viewers.

As well as his successful career on Friends, Perry has appeared in films such as Fools Rush In (alongside father, John Bennett Perry and Salma Hayek), Three to Tango, The Whole Nine Yards (alongside Bruce Willis) and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards, and Serving Sara.

2000s

While known primarily for his comedic roles, Perry has carved out a career in drama as well, particularly in his portrayal of Associate White House Counsel Joe Quincy in Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing. His three appearances in that series (twice in the fourth season and once in the fifth) earned him two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2003 and 2004. He also guested as attorney Todd Merrick in two episodes near the end of Ally McBeal's 5-season run, including a 2-hour special intended to revive the legal comedy-drama.

After Friends wrapped up, Perry made his directorial debut in an episode of the 4th season of Bill Lawrence's sitcom Scrubs (which he also guest starred in, as "Murray Marks" an operator of a small airport's traffic control team. Murray is asked to donate a kidney to his father Gregory, played by Perry's real father).

He starred in the TNT movie, The Ron Clark Story, which premiered on August 13, 2006. Perry played Ron Clark, a small town teacher who relocates to the toughest class in the country. He received a Golden Globe nomination as well as an Emmy nomination for the performance.

In 2006-2007, Perry appeared in Aaron Sorkin's hour-long drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Perry played Matt Albie alongside Bradley Whitford's Danny Tripp, a writer-director duo brought in to help save a failing sketch show. Perry's character was considered to be substantially based on Sorkin's own personal experiences, particularly in television.

In 2006 he began filming Numb, a comedy drama about a chronically depressed writer. The film's tentative release date has been pushed back several times, and is currently Winter 2008. He also appeared in David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago in London.

Perry is set to appear in the movie 17 Again, a comedy about a 36 year old man who transforms back into his 17 year old self. The movie also stars Zac Efron. Perry holds dual US/Canadian citizenship. His parents divorced before his first birthday and his mother is re-married to Keith Morrison, a broadcast journalist. Perry was raised by his mother in Ottawa. While growing up in Ontario, Perry took a keen interest in tennis and soon became a top-ranked junior player. He was enrolled at Rockcliffe Park Public School, Lisgar Collegiate Institute, and Ashbury College.

Perry developed an addiction to alcohol and to ease this he then became addicted to Vicodin. He first started taking prescription drugs after a jet ski accident in 1997 and checked himself into Hazelden. In 2000 he was hospitalized with pancreatitis as a result of his addictions. During that summer he lost 20 pounds, appearing noticeably thinner during the 7th season premiere of Friends, in a scene that continued directly from the 6th season finale.

During the filming of Serving Sara, Perry checked into rehab. The last 13 days of filming were held up until he was well enough to return. The filming schedule on Friends was altered so scenes not featuring his character Chandler were shot first. His recovery once again caused weight fluctuations, which are particularly noticeable in Serving Sara.