Aisha Tyler reveals the ‘sweet’ and ‘generous’ thing Matthew Perry told her before taking first bow in front of live Friends audience: ‘I’ll never forget that moment’

As Aisha Tyler looks back fondly on her time on Friends, she remembers the “sweet” note the late Matthew Perry left her after they filmed her first episode.

Flashback to 2003: Tyler was doing stand-up comedy and her television career began as a host of Talk Soup and the reality dating series The 5th Wheel, when she landed the role of Dr. Charlie Wheeler, the romantic partner of Ross (David Schwimmer) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc).

After she finished her first episode of the show, she and the others were waiting backstage, where she was about to take her first bow to the live audience, when Perry casually offered her some words of encouragement.

“Right before I went out at the end of my first take, Matthew Perry leaned over and said, ‘Get ready for a change in your life,’” something she will cherish forever during a performance at the And that’s what you REALLY missed podcast.

It’s something of a tradition that the actors of a sitcom taped in front of a studio audience will return after the last scene to take a bow as a sign of thanks and respect.

“Right before I went out at the end of my first take, Matthew Perry leaned over and said, ‘Get ready for a change in your life,’” which is something she will cherish forever, during an appearance on the podcast And That’s What You REALLY Missed

That little comment from her late co-star had a huge impact on Tyler’s confidence and psyche as she moved forward with her career in Hollywood.

“It was just such a sweet, generous thing to say,” said Tyler, 53. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh.’ He was like, ‘This is exciting. This is going to be exciting for you.’ And I’ve never forgotten that moment because it really changed my life.”

Mind you, she had little acting experience at the time, which meant she auditioned for Schwimmer and even took acting lessons in 2003.

“By the time I auditioned for Friends, I had seen every episode of Friends — every episode,” 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 am I going to do it right?”

Because Tyler paid close attention on the set of Friends, he was able to absorb all the different acting techniques, nuances, and overall creativity.

“I learned how to tell a joke perfectly just by watching ‘Perry,’” she confessed during the interview, which, given the outcome, worked.

Tyler claims she’s still reaping the benefits of the things she learned during her Friends audition, a reading with Schwimmer.

That little comment from her late co-star had a huge impact on Tyler’s confidence and psyche as she moved on to pursue her career in Hollywood; set to air in February

“It was just such a sweet, generous thing to say,” said Tyler, 53. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh.’ He was like, ‘This is exciting. This is going to be exciting for you.’ And I’ve never forgotten that moment because it really changed my life”; seen in 2004

Since then, she has appeared in television series such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2004–2005), 24 (2005), Ghost Whisperer (2005–2006), Archer (2009–2023), XIII: The Series (2011–2012), Criminal Minds (2015–2020, 2022–present) and co-hosted the daytime talk show The Talk (2011–2017), and has appeared in a number of films.

Perry, who struggled with serious drug and alcohol addictions throughout his life, was found unconscious in his hot tub at his Los Angeles home. He 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 treat depression and pain, with buprenorphine, drowning and coronary artery disease as contributing causes.

Originally slated to star as Charlie in four episodes of Friends, Tyler ended up starring in nine episodes across seasons nine and ten, 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 of Ross (David Schwimmer) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc)

Tyler had little acting experience at the time, which led to her audition with Schwimmer, and she took acting classes at that time in 2003.

Perry was only 54 when he tragically passed away at his Los Angeles home in October 2023, twenty years after they first met during her audition process.

Tyler, a San Francisco native, described the late actor as someone with “an unparalleled gentleness and generosity.”

Friends premiered in September 1994 and, by the end of its ten seasons in May 2004, had become one of the most successful sitcoms.