Matthew Perry Was 'Looking Forward to Life' and Urged Others to Follow Their 'Dreams' (Exclusive)

"He was doing super well in his sobriety. He looked happy. He looked healthy," Athenna Crosby tells PEOPLE after being one of the last people to see Perry alive before his death on Saturday

One of the last people to speak to Matthew Perry before his untimely death is opening up about their time together and the words of advice she received from him.

Model and actress Athenna Crosby was photographed dining with the Friends alum last Friday before he was found dead in his Los Angeles home over the weekend.

Crobsy, 25, reveals to PEOPLE that the duo were introduced through mutual friends; she invited him out to lunch at the Bel Air Hotel thinking it would be a quiet place where she could pick his brain about his experiences in the industry.

“He was looking to just meet creative people who would obviously support him on his goals,” the pageant star says of Perry. “Honestly, I just think he was really just nice and generous to be able to meet with me.”

"Obviously if he's a big celebrity, he doesn't need to meet with anybody, but he agreed to and was so nice and I was just getting to know him better and seeing if there was any things that we had in common and things that maybe we could do together in the future," she adds.

Related: Costars and Friends of Matthew Perry Remember Him as a 'Lovely Man' as Tributes Continue to Pour In for Star

Over a shared order of a plain cheeseburger and extra crispy fries, the two bonded about their love for acting. Crosby recalls his warm demeanor and describes him as an expert “conversationalist.”

“It was just a cool opportunity for me to meet such a legendary person,” she gushes of their nearly two-hour-long lunch. “Definitely felt like I had known him forever."

She continues, "He told me that it's an arduous process to be in this industry — as I have definitely come to believe his words through the last couple of days — but that if I really know myself and want to succeed, nobody can really stop you.”

“I think that's something that he felt in his own life,” the entertainment reporter notes, explaining that Perry’s “struggles and trials and tribulations” pushed him to become “his own biggest cheerleader.”

Related: Matthew Perry's Dating History: From Gwyneth Paltrow to Molly Hurwitz

"He was just being really kind and saying, 'Don't ever let anybody derail you, ruin your dreams, because if you really want that, you can make them happen,'" she recalls.

He even gifted Crosby a signed copy of his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. "He wrote a little message and it was really nice," she says of the actor's gesture.

As one of the last people Perry was seen with before his tragic death, Crosby says she feels the need to “testify” to his sound “mental health and wellness the day before he passed away.”

"He was doing super well in his sobriety. He looked happy. He looked healthy," she shares. "He only had good things to say."

Related: Friends Fans from Around the World Mourn Matthew Perry in N.Y.C: 'Losing a Dear Friend' (Exclusive)

“That's kind of my role in all of this,” she explains. “I'm not a friend of the family or a close friend or anything, so I am just here to clear the air and say there was nothing weird going on. He was totally normal, he was super nice.”

“He was looking forward to life, and that's the extent of… what I saw the day before he passed away,” she concludes.

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Perry died in his Los Angeles home on Saturday after an apparent drowning. The star, who was 54, was best known for portraying Chandler Bing on Friends for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed to PEOPLE that an autopsy has been completed and results are pending a toxicology report. However, an online record has the status of the actor's cause of death currently listed as "deferred" since it's "pending additional investigation."

The actor's family released a statement to PEOPLE on Sunday, saying, "We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother. Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend. You all meant so much to him and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love."

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