Motivated-that’s what you could call Matthew Perry, who plays wisecracking Friend Chandler Bing. From a young age, Matthew always had something cooking on the backburner of his mind. By age four, he was playing tennis in Ottawa, Canada at a local country club for fun, and by the age 13, he was number two ranked junior player in that city. When he decided to travel to Los Angeles with his father, John Perry, (Matt’s parents divorced when he was less than a year old. His mother remarried and Matt later became the eldest brother in a family of four-Caitlin, Emily, Willy and Madeline. His father remarried also, and Matt has a stepsister, Debbie) and further his tennis carrer, instead, he was bitten by the acting bug and from there on it, it was his destiny.

After a few lean years where he played small roles on Growing Pains, Sydney, Second Chance, Charles In Charge, Silver Spoons, The Tracey Ullman Show and Boys Will Be Boys, frustrated with the lack of good parts in the industry, Matthew and friend Andrew Hill Newman wrote their own sitcom in 1993 called Maxwell’s House- centering around the problems of twenty-something friends. After attending a series of meetings regardoing his project and getting to an almost-negociation period with NBC, they rejected his idea, because they had a similar sitcom in mind, Friends.

When did you decide that you wanted to be an actor?
Matthew: My father is an actor Myparents were divorced when I was young, so he was in Los Angeles while I grew up in Canada. The only way I would see my father, basically, was through the television. I have respect for the medium and I always kind of wanted to do it. You know, my father was kind of like, “Don’t go into this business. It is a hellish business.” When I got my first job in the film A Night In The Life Of Jimmy Reardon, he bought me an acting book. The inscription said, (laughs) “Another generation shot to hell ! ”

What are some of you earliest memorable experiences as and actor?
Matthew: I went to a private school and auditionned for a play. I got the role of an extra. A week before we were supposed to put on the play, the guy that got one of the leads failed a test. In school, if you fail a test, you can’t do anything extra, so they pulled him out of the play and I had to learn 500 lines in one week ! I had to sit there and really learn them. At that point I thought this might be something I really wanted to do, so I kept on doing school plays. Then I moved to Los Angeles to live with my father. Originally, I moved here to be a tennis player, because I was ranked seventeeth in the counrty. Tennis eventually didn’t work out for me because I was great in Canada, but in Los Angeles, everyone, plays tennis ! I realized it wasn’t for me, so I went to school and what happened next. I owe to my father as well. He was trying out for the part of a father on a sitcom, and he took me to the agency with him to pick up a script. One of his agents called me into his office and asked : ” Are you an actor?” I read for him, the show was Spencer, the show with Chad Lowe. He had quit and they were recasting. I went to the final level and I got no feedback. I eventually didn’t get it but the agency said, “This guy has something that can make some money in this business”, so they signed me.

What do you think young people look for when they consider making an actor their ‘idol’?
Matthew : Two things. People want to be like them. That is where that positive image we should all have is important. You know, you see someone on a television show, on a movie screen, and they are bigger than life. If you are able to read about them and find out about their life, it is more interesting and real to their fans.

Do you think the Hollywood establishment respects young actors who are ‘overnight sensation’ today?
Matthew : If they are able to get past the label and if the person proves through their work that they demand some respect. I look at a career like Jimmy Stewart’s. A guy who kept on going-who loves acting and performing. I never want to be in the Where Are They Now ? , you know ? I think you are apt to do that if you become a really big star quickly.

Do you feel that you have a responsability to your fans, whether on screen or off-screen, in the kind of roles you choose?
Matthew : I would not turn down a role because people that know my career would not think I should do that. Micheal Keaton went through years playing that zaby comedy guy and then, took that role in the film Clean And Sober. People that knew him probably just went, ‘What are you doing ?’ That just broadened his career and made him a much more respected actor. I don’t think I would ever turn down anything because it was too different.

What is the biggest misconception of you as an actor?
Matthew : A lot of people don’t know that I am a woman! [laugh] I have been able to hide that pretty well.

Do you feel you missed out on a lot by beginnig your career so young?
Matthew : Well, I was two weeks away from going to college and I got a television series. If you picture an eighteen year-old going ‘Do I want to study or make this whole bunch of money doing what I love doing?’ I don’t think a lot of people would take college ! I was never a great student anyway. I think I would be a much better student now.

Would you want a child of yours to be in the business?
Matthew : I would not want anyone I care about doing this. There is so much crap in this business, compared to the few moments that are enjoyable. You know, someone very smart said to me at one time, ‘If there are two things you want to do, and acting is one of them, do the other one!’