As a 15-year-old growing up in Los Angeles, Matthew Perry once dreamt of becoming a professional tennis player. He was, after all, ranked 17 nationally in the singles category and number 3 in the doubles competition. However, a tournament loss in 1984 caused him to re-think his plans, and Matthew chose instead to follow in his father’s (actor John Bennett Perry) footsteps.

After accepting a small part in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988) and starring in two canceled sitcoms (Second Chance and Boys Will Be Boys), Perry made a string of guest spots in just about every show on the dial (including a recurring role in Growing Pains). Convinced he could write a better series than the ones he’d been offered, he quit acting for a year to pen his own sitcom. It turned out that his idea was very similar to one that NBC was developing, a show about a group of twentysomething friends. Long story short, he was offered the role of the “Wise-Cracking Friend,” Chandler Bing, and his career took off. The show’s phenomenal success eventually led to film work, and starring roles opposite Salma Hayek (in 1997’s Fools Rush In) and the late Chris Farley (in “98’s Almost Heroes). He recently starred in Three To Tango, opposite Dylan McDermott and Neve Campbell, and spent this past summer filming The Whole Nine Yards with Bruce Willis, Rosanna Arquette and Natasha Henstridge. drDrew.com caught up with Perry to talk about making new Friends

drDrew.com: You had some surprising dramatic scenes in Three To Tango. Are you comfortable doing drama?
Matthew Perry: Yeah. It takes about 20 minutes to forget about being Matthew Perry, the guy who falls down on “Friends.” I’m proud of some of the dramatic scenes in the movie, but I was the most nervous. There were sleepless nights before shooting those things to make sure I could pull it off. Especially doing them with Neve Campbell. She does drama really well.

drDrew.com: What makes you happiest these days?
MP: Everything is just falling into place for me right now. I just turned 30, which I thought I was going to be bummed about, but I’m not. Work is going great because I love doing “Friends.” I loved making Three to Tango, and having seen it, I’m really proud of it. I also had a great experience working in Montreal this summer, and I have a girlfriend and I just bought a nice house. Things are calming down in my life a little bit so that’s good.

drDrew.com: Is your girlfriend and actress?
MP: Yes she is. I met her at a restaurant though, not at work.

drDrew.com: How did you know there was something there?
MP: I don’t know. There was just something kind of quirky and cool about her. I very guardedly asked her out and now I’m getting to know her. So far so good.

drDrew.com: Is it difficult for you to approach someone given your “celebrity status?”
MP: I can tell if someone is talking to me because I’m on “Friends” or cause they just think I’m neat. You know I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than five or ten minutes with somebody who was ogling me because they recognized me from the show. If I’m feeling really low, I’ll go to the Beverly Center and hum the theme song.