All weekend, tributes for Matthew Perry have been pouring in after the beloved actor died at the age of 54.
Of course, alongside roles in movies like Fools Rush In, 17 Again, The Whole Nine Yards, and more, Matthew's most notable role was playing Chandler Bing on Friends for 236 episodes. His work earned him a SAG Award alongside the rest of the cast in 1996, and an Emmy nomination in 2002.
Celebrities also paid tribute to the late actor, including some of his former costars, like Maggie Wheeler, Morgan Fairchild, Mira Sorvino, and more.
And now, Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, alongside executive producer Kevin Bright, have issued a statement following Matthew's death.
"We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing. It still seems impossible," they began in their joint statement, via People magazine. "All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives."
They continued, saying, "He was a brilliant talent. It's a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew's case, there are no truer words. From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us."
Speaking about being cast on Friends, Matthew previously said he almost had to turn down the role because he was under contract with another show, called LAX 2194. On getting the script for Friends, he said, "It was hilarious and great. There was this part that was perfect for me, and it was making me crazy that I couldn’t go up for it because [of] the baggage handlers show. I was losing my mind."
In his recent memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew also wrote about praying to God that he would become famous shortly before landing the role of Chandler, writing, via CNN, "'God, you can do whatever you want to me. Just please make me famous.' Three weeks later, I got cast in Friends. And God has certainly kept his side of the bargain — but the Almighty, being the Almighty, had not forgotten the first part of that prayer as well."
The Friends creators also detailed in their statement on Matthew's passing how much joy he brought to the set of Friends, which is evident by the hours of bloopers and behind-the-scenes moments you can watch.
They wrote, "We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment — not just to his work, but in life as well. He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart."
Marta, David, and Kevin ended their statement with, "We send all of our love to his family and friends. This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken," nodding to the iconic titles of Friends episodes.
