Matthew Perry's Life Before Fame Is Actually So Canadian It Hurts
Like everyone else in the world, when you hear Matthew Perry's name, you automatically think of his iconic character from Friends, Chandler Bing. However, Friends wasn't Perry's first gig, and his background is actually super interesting and relatable. Not only was he raised in Canada, but his mother has a few Canadian connections that will blow your mind. If you're curious to see how Matthew Perry became the comedic genius that he is, then keep reading.
Matthew Perry wasn't born in Canada. He was born on August 19, 1969 in Williamstown, Massachusetts. His dad is an actor, singer, and former model, so it's pretty obvious where Perry gets his love of acting from. His mom, however, was the one to bring him to Canada.
His parents divorced pretty soon after he was born, and his mom raised in him Ottawa. He went to Ashbury College, which is a boarding school in Ottawa. From there, his mom ended up marrying Dateline journalist Keith Morrison, who is also Canadian.
Like Keith Morrison, Perry's mom Suzanne is also a Canadian journalist and was actually a secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Growing up, he had a pretty normal childhood. His interests were lawn tennis and of course, acting. The latter would end up bringing him to Los Angeles at a young age.
When Perry was 15, he ended up moving out of Ottawa to Los Angeles to live with his dad and also to pursue acting. He got cast as a series regular at 18 on a show called Boys Will be Boys. After that, it was a pretty fast climb to fame. At just 25, Perry scored the role of Chandler Bing on Friends, which as we all know, became one of the most popular TV shows of all time.
Ever since Friends ended back in 2004, Perry has worked in movies such as 17 Again and TV shows such as Mr. Sunshine and The Odd Couple. However, Perry had been out of the spotlight for a couple of years, dealing with health problems. After he was seen for the first time in years, fans worried about him. But don't fret, just a couple of months later, he was seen in public looking better than ever.
Perry has talked a lot about Canada, as well as growing up in Ottawa, since becoming famous. He's a diehard Ottawa Senators fan and revealed a couple of years ago that he has a history with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He claims he "beat him up" when he was in 5th grade. If you want to hear more about that, you can view the video below!