Matthew Perry reveals nightly studio live audience fear on Friends reunion: ‘I felt like I was going to die’

‘You didn’t tell us that,’ a concerned Lisa Kudrow replied

Matthew Perry has opened up about his fear of performing Friends episodes in front of a live studio audience.

The cast of the sitcom, which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004, reunited for a one-off special, where the Chandler actor admitted his concerns for the first time.

Perry and his five co-stars would act episodes out in front of a crowd of people, with their reactions often inspiring changes in storylines or leading to writer scrapping jokes that fell flat.

It was the latter prospect that Perry said frightened him each time they performed, with the actor stating: “To me, I felt like I was going to die if they didn’t laugh.”

He continued: “It’s not healthy, for sure, but I would sometimes say a line and they wouldn’t laugh and I would sweat and just go into convulsions if i didn’t get the laugh I was supposed to get. I would freak out.”

To this, Kudrow replied: “You didn’t tell us that. I don’t remember you ever saying that.”

Perry said that he “felt that every single night”.

Matthew Perry admits to fears of performing ‘Friends’ episodes in front of audience (Warner Bros Entertainment Inc)

In a trailer for the special, many people noticed that Perry seemed to be slurring his words – however, a source close to the actor revealed this was due to the actor having emergency dental surgery shortly before it was filmed.

The reunion’s biggest moment came when Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer revealed they had real-life feelings for each other while filming the show.

Find our verdict on the reunion in Adam White’s review here.

Watch Friends: The Reunion on Sky One and streaming service NOW from Thursday 27 May.