Sean Penn shared a touching tribute to Friends star Matthew Perry during a candid and emotional interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored.
Speaking to TalkTV broadcaster Piers Morgan, the Oscar winner, 63, opened up publicly for the first time about Perry’s tragic death, praising him for being a “talented man.”
In a preview clip of the upcoming special broadcast Wednesday night, Penn, whose son Hopper battled crystal meth addiction as a teenager, praised Perry for being “bold” in talking about his own battle with substance abuse.
‘What a talented guy. “I can’t claim to have known him well, but I liked him a lot,” the actor said.
Mourning: Sean Penn shared a touching tribute to Friends star Matthew Perry during a candid and emotional interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored
Penn continued, “I saw him recently, and we were both on a flight out of Los Angeles airport, and I complimented him on what I knew of his book. I hadn’t read the book, I’d seen some of his interviews, and he seemed to be talking about it, confronting it, being very intelligent and bold about it, and generously offering his experience to people to be helpful.
The Santa Monica native went on to say, “It’s tragic, I can’t say I was terribly surprised. “I don’t know what the whole coroner’s report says and all that, but I do know he’s done a lot of damage to his organs over the years.”
“You know, a difficult situation, and he had to do that, he had to put that story behind him and he had to bring joy to a lot of people with his talent. So I wish his family the best,” the father of two concluded.
In 2001, Penn previously made a small appearance in Friends Back as the boyfriend of Phoebe’s twin sister (Lisa Kudrow).
He was in two episodes entitled The One With The Halloween Party and The One With The Stain.
Previously, Friends director Kevin S. Bright called Penn “the least successful” guest star to appear on the series.
“Just the style of production wasn’t what he was used to doing a show like that, so there was a little deer in the headlight effect,” he told Metro.co.uk.
Penn’s comments come a week after a source told DailyMail.com that Perry’s Friends stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Le Blanc and David Schwimmer were in early talks to honor him at the upcoming Emmy Awards.
Gone too soon: Speaking to TalkTV broadcaster Piers Morgan, the Oscar winner, 63, opened up publicly for the first time about Perry’s tragic death as he praised him for being a ‘talented man’ (seen in 2012)
The beloved actor was found dead in his hot tub on October 28 at the age of 54. His cause of death has been postponed pending the results of a toxicology report.
“When it comes to Matthew’s death, emotions are still running high and it is still a very sensitive situation, which is completely understandable,” a source told DailyMail.com exclusively.
“When it comes to Matthew’s death, emotions are still running high and it is still a very sensitive situation, which is completely understandable,” the insider told DailyMail.com exclusively.
“But Jen, Lisa and the rest of the cast want to at some point publicly honor him and give him the tribute he so rightly deserves — and there have been rumors of doing this at next year’s Emmys.”
Reunion: Penn’s comments come a week after a source told DailyMail.com that Perry’s Friends stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Le Blanc and David Schwimmer were in early talks to honor him at the upcoming Emmy Awards
While Perry will likely be featured in the In Memorium segment, the insider claimed that Lisa, 60, Courteney, 59, David, 57, Matt, 56, and Jennifer, 54, would also like to share their memories on stage.
“They would all love to get on stage together to talk about him and also have their own unique moment to share memories of him and tell the world about the man he was in real life,” they continued.
“If they can all agree on a worthy tribute and get the blessing of his family, they will absolutely come together to make that evening a special moment for Matthew and all who loved him.”
The 75th Emmys will take place on January 15 at the Peackcock Theater in Los Angeles – three months after the original date was scrapped due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
Perry was nominated for five Emmy awards during his lifetime, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2002 for his role in Friends.
He was also nominated twice for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his performance on The West Wing in 2003 and 2004.