Matthew Perry hoped to reunite with his 17 Again costar Zac Efron to star in a biopic about his life… before the Friends star’s tragic death at 54

Matthew Perry explored the possibility of a biopic about himself before his death – and he wanted his former 17 Again co-star Zac Efron to star as a younger version of himself.

According to Athenna Crosby, who had dinner with Matthew just one day before his tragic death at the age of 54, the Friends star “wanted to make a movie about his life and have a biopic made.”

The entertainment reporter and actress said this People that Matthew “wanted Zac Efron, who has already played him, to play him again because he said he did so well.”

The revelation about Perry’s hopes for a film about his life comes just days after he was found dead in his hot tub by his assistant.

Matthew starred in the 2009 comedy 17 Again as Mike O’Donnell, a 37-year-old man on the verge of divorce who regrets throwing away his chance at a successful career as a basketball star to be with his pregnant girlfriend and future marriage. woman.

Costars: Athenna Crosby, who had dinner with Perry the day before his death, told People that Matthew “wanted Zac Efron, who already played him, to play him again because he said he did so well.” Efron played Perry’s younger character in 2009’s 17 Again (pictured)

But after meeting a mysterious janitor on a bridge, he finds himself transformed into his 17-year-old self (now played by Zac Efron).

After re-enrolling in high school under an assumed name and deciding to redesign his life for a better outcome, he realizes he has the ability to help his two teenage children navigate their difficult personal lives at school, which also brings him closer to his life. estranged wife (Leslie Mann).

The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, but audiences were big fans of Matthew and Zac’s performances, and the film became a box office hit with a gross of $139.5 million against a budget of $40 million, according to The numbers.

At the time, Efron was hot off the success of the third High School Musical film and his critically acclaimed performance in Me And Orson Welles.

Perry marked the pinnacle of his post-Friends career with the film, which tragically was his final film role. In the following years he appeared exclusively on television, as a series star or as a guest.

He was set to make his long-awaited return to the big screen with a role in Adam McKay’s satirical comedy Don’t Look Up, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Meryl Streep and many other A-listers. was forced to drop out after already filming some of his scenes.

Perry later revealed in his memoir – Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing – that he was still in the grips of addiction while filming his scenes, and later traveled to a rehab facility in Switzerland.

While there, he lied about being in pain so his doctors would prescribe him opiates. However, when the alleged pain wouldn’t go away, his doctor recommended having a device surgically implanted in his back to help relieve the mostly non-existent pain.

Sad Sack: Perry played the role of a washed-up 37-year-old who regrets his life choices and the lost opportunity to become a basketball star, as well as his poor relationship with his children and his failed marriage

Behind the Scenes: But a magical encounter transforms him back into his 17-year-old self (played by Efron), and he decides to help his troubled children and his estranged wife now that they don’t know his true identity.

The 2009 hit was the pinnacle of Perry’s post-Friends career, and he never appeared in another film for the rest of his life.

What Could Have Been: Perry filmed scenes for Don’t Look Up, but was left out of the film after his heart stopped during surgery. He was revived after five minutes of CPR, which broke eight of his ribs; seen in November 2022 in West Hollywood

But Perry continued to take hydrocodone the night before his surgery, so when he was given propofol, the drugs worked together and caused his heart to stop — for several minutes.

“I got the shot at 11am,” he wrote. ‘Eleven hours later I woke up in another hospital. Apparently the propofol had stopped my heart. For five minutes. It wasn’t a heart attack – I didn’t collapse – but nothing was right. I was told that a burly Swiss guy really didn’t want the guy from Friends to die on his table and he resuscitated me for the full five minutes, punching and pounding on my chest.

“If I hadn’t been on Friends, would he have stopped after three minutes? Did Friends save my life again?’ he pondered with morbid humor.

Perry added that the life-saving CPR also broke eight of his ribs.