Conan O’Brien has admitted that he was ‘jealous’ of Matthew Perry when then girlfriend Lisa Kudrow raved about how funny her Friends costar was after she first met him.
O’Brien, 61, and Kudrow, 60, dated between 1988 and 1993 so they were in a relationship when Lisa filmed season one of Friends alongside Matthew, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc.
During an appearance on her ex’s podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, mother-of-one Kudrow revealed that she had been watching Friends a lot since Perry died in October 2023 and described her costars as ‘phenomenally hilarious.’
Recalling her early days of filming, O’Brien said to Kudrow: ‘You started doing that show and you called me up and you were raving about…,’ as she finished his sentence and blurted out: ‘Matthew!’
O’Brien continued: ‘And you were saying, “he’s so funny,” and there was part of me that was… jealous. Like I was, “okay, I make you laugh pretty hard,” and you were like, ‘No, no, you don’t understand, this guy’s really funny!”‘
Conan O’Brien has admitted that he was ‘jealous’ of Matthew Perry when his then-girlfriend, Lisa Kudrow, raved about funny her Friends costar was after she first met him
Lisa first met Matthew when they started filming TV sitcom Friends in the early 90s
‘No, I wasn’t that bad!’ Kudrow laughed as O’Brien replied: ‘No, you weren’t, but I’m just saying, I think that’s human.’
Kudrow reassured her former boyfriend and told him: ‘Well, you are the funniest person I know,’ as O’Brien fired back: ‘No, no, that’s not what this is about…,’ as the blonde actress continued: ‘One of the funniest people I know… well, now it’s hard to hear, you see, but it is true, that’s just a fact.’
Referring to her late friend, Perry, again, Kudrow then said: ‘He was such a huge [talent]. I thought that Chandler character, when I read it, I went, “Oh, they have a gay character, that’s good,” that’s all I heard.
‘And so at the table read, I just did a double take at him. “Oh my God,” that I never even in a million years could have envisioned anyone playing the character like that and with his own rhythm and everything, it’s his own,’ she added as O’Brien added: ‘Impeccable timing.’
Speaking about Friends, in which she played the hilarious Phoebe Buffay, Kudrow explained: ‘I used to not be able to watch it at all. I mean, I’d see it on and be mildly interested, and then I’d see me and say, “That’s enough of that, I can’t bear it.”
‘And then well, listen. After Matthew died, I could start watching the show again because it wasn’t about me, it had to do with him for some reason.
‘And so I have started watching Friends. Not started like season one, but there are marathons on, and I have spent at times, since he died, all day long watching the show.’
The actress also briefly touched on Perry’s personal struggles amidst the rising popularity of Friends and said: ‘Everyone was so excited and I think for some people, and he was definitely one of them, it’s, “oh my God, this will be really good, everything will be fixed now,” and that’s not how it goes.’
Matthew as Chandler Bing and Lisa as Phoebe Buffay in an episode of TV sitcom Friends
Conan on set with the cast of Friends, including his ex-girlfriend, Lisa, back in 2001
Perry, who battled substance abuse for decades, sadly passed away at the age of 54 on October 28 last year after accidentally drowning in his jacuzzi in Los Angeles.
In December 2023, an autopsy confirmed that Perry died from the ‘acute effects of ketamine’ and drowning – with the actor having similar quantities of ketamine in his system as a hospital patient under general anesthetic.
Since then, the LAPD has begun an investigation into the circumstances of Perry’s death.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is ‘confident’ in their investigation and planning to charge ‘multiple people’ with drug distribution resulting in death or great bodily injury.