George Clooney Believes Matthew Perry's “Friends” Success Didn’t Bring Him 'Joy or Happiness or Peace'

Clooney said it was "hard to watch" Perry struggle with substance abuse while they shared a soundstage at NBC during their respective runs on 'ER' and 'Friends’

George Clooney is sharing more about his decades-long friendship with Matthew Perry and why he believes the actor's success on Friends didn't bring him the happiness he'd always wanted.

While promoting his new movie The Boys in the Boat, Clooney, 62, opened up about his relationship with Perry. In particular, Clooney noted how he witnessed Perry’s struggles with addiction while the duo were starring in their respective shows on NBC — ER and Friends — years ago.

"I knew Matt when he was 16 years old," Clooney told Deadline. "We used to play paddle tennis together. He’s about 10 years younger than me. And he was a great, funny, funny, funny kid."

The Oceans Eleven star recalled how Perry would often share his dreams about landing a role on a hit TV show when "he was a kid."

"All he would say to us, I mean me, Richard Kind and Grant Heslov, was, I just want to get on a sitcom, man. I just want to get on a regular sitcom and I would be the happiest man on earth," he recalled to the outlet.

Related: Remembering Matthew Perry's Life and Career in Photos

Though Perry eventually nabbed a role as Chandler Bing on Friends, Clooney said he still "wasn't happy." Despite fulfilling his childhood dreams, he claimed Perry's feat "didn’t bring him joy or happiness or peace."

With Clooney's ER and Friends being filmed "side by side" on the same NBC soundstage, the pair would see each other frequently. ER aired from 1994 to 2009 and Friends aired from 1994 to 2004. In 1995, Clooney even guest starred in an episode of the legendary sitcom.

"And watching that go on on the lot — we were at Warner Brothers, we were there right next to each other — it was hard to watch because we didn’t know what was going through him," he continued of Perry's struggle with substance abuse, which the actor spoke at lengths about throughout his life.

"We just knew that he wasn’t happy and I had no idea he was doing, what, 12 Vicodin a day and all the stuff he talked about, all that heartbreaking stuff. And it also just tells you that success and money and all those things, it doesn’t just automatically bring you happiness," he added. "You have to be happy with yourself and your life."

Related: Jennifer Aniston Says Matthew Perry 'Wasn't Struggling' Before His Death: 'He Was Happy'

On Oct. 28, Perry was found dead at his Los Angeles home. He was 54.

Last week, it was determined that the Friends actor died of acute effects of ketamine, according to an autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Coroner obtained by PEOPLE. The document also listed drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects as contributing factors in his death.

The autopsy stated that Perry was "reportedly clean for 19 months" before his death, though he was practicing ketamine infusion therapy and had his latest treatment "one and a half weeks before" the accidental drowning. However, the coroner noted that "the ketamine in his system at death could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine's half-life is 3 to 4 hours, or less."

Related: Matthew Perry Opens Up About His Addiction Journey with a New Memoir: 'I'm Grateful to Be Alive'

Over the course of his life, the 17 Again star was vocal about his struggles with addiction. In his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry opened up about his journey with sobriety and the sense of pride he felt about staying clean.

“I wanted to share when I was safe from going into the dark side again,” he told PEOPLE at the time. “I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober—and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction—to write it all down. I was pretty certain that it would help people if I did.”

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And though Perry did struggle with substance abuse while starring on Friends, he spoke highly about how the role brought him — and fellow cast members, Jennifer Aniston. Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer — viral fame.

"It changed my life in every way. I got the show when I was a 24-year-old man; the show ended when I was 34. It formed my life. And it was the time of my life," Perry previously told PEOPLE.

Of the cast’s support through his ongoing addiction, Perry said, "They were understanding, and they were patient.”

He added: “It's like penguins. In nature, when one is sick or very injured, the other penguins surround it and prop it up and walk around until that penguin can walk on its own. And that's kind of what the cast did for me."

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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