Zac Efron responds after learning he was Matthew Perry’s first choice to play him in biopic

According to Perry’s friend, the late ‘Friends’ star was ‘going to ask’ Efron ‘soon’

Zac Efron has responded to the news he was Matthew Perry‘s first choice to play him in a biopic.

Following the Friends star’s death, aged 54, from an apparent drowning on 28 October, one of his close acquaintances claimed that Perry wanted Efron to play him in a future film about his life.

Efron previously played a younger version of a character played by Perry in the 2009 film 17 Again, which saw a father travel back 20 years after being sucked into a time vortex.

According to TV host and model Athenna Crosby, Perry thought Efron would be the perfect casting for a biopic about his life as “he did such a good job” playing him in the 2009 fantasy film. She told Entertainment Tonight Canada that he was “gonna ask him soon to do that”.

Speaking at a red carpet event for his new film The Iron Claw on Wednesday (8 November), Efron told People he was “honoured to hear he was thinking of me to play him”.

Efron, who said he was “devastated” by Perry’s death, added: “He was a mentor to me, and we made a really cool film together. I looked up to him, I learned comedic timing from that guy.

“I mean, when we were filming 17 Again, it was so surreal for me to look across and have him be there, because I’ve learned so much from him, from his whole life.”

Five days after Perry’s death, his fellow Friends stars, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, gathered at a cemetery in Los Angeles for the actor’s funeral.

Their sad reunion comes after the Hollywood actors released a joint statement expressing their “devastation” over the “unfathomable loss”.

They said: “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just castmates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”

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Zac Efron and Matthew Perry photographed in 2009 (Offspring Entertainment/Kobal/Shutterstock)

“In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”

Efron co-stars in The Iron Claw with Harris Dickinson and The Bear actor Jeremy Allen White. The trio play the Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.