Zac Efron Responds to One of Matthew Perry's Final Wishes
The death of Matthew Perry has left Hollywood in mourning as many of his former colleagues reflect on their time working together. In 2009, Zac Efron starred opposite Perry in the beloved comedy flick 17 Again as the younger version of his character, and the experience formed an unbreakable bond between the two. Perry was so impressed, in fact, that he even wanted Efron to eventually play him in a biopic.
Efron ruminated on his wish in a red carpet interview on Nov. 8. "It's a huge honor," he told Entertainment Tonight. "To think he was thinking of me for that role, I mean I would be honored to do it, to be honest."
The news came from Perry's friend Athenna Crosby, who had dinner with the Friends star one day before his death on Oct. 28. After watching Efron play a younger version of one of his movie characters, Perry could see the High School Musical star playing himself in his real life story.
"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," she told ET of Perry's wishes. "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."
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Efron was understandably "devastated" by Perry's loss, recounting to People the memories he had on set with the Friends legend.
"He was a mentor to me, and we made a really cool film together," he says. "I looked up to him, I learned comedic timing from that guy. I mean, when we were filming 17 Again, it was so surreal for me to look across and have him be there, because I've learned so much from him, from his whole life."
Perry had quite the life that would make for a compelling story to be told on screen. His 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing would certainly make for great source material in the late actor's own words.