15 Things We Learned From Friends: The Reunion
7. Matthew Perry Was Extremely Anxious While Shooting Every Episode
Though the show doesn't linger long on the personal lives of the actors, Matthew Perry does briefly open up about his own torments while filming Friends, a show which he famously claimed not to recall filming seasons of due to his substance abuse issues.
In the reunion, Perry discussed his crushing anxieties about performing on the show, saying:
"I felt like I was going to die if [the studio audience] didn't laugh. And it's not healthy for sure, but I would sometimes say a line and they didn't laugh, and I would sweat and just go into convulsions if I didn't get the laugh I was supposed to get."
Perry's co-stars chimed in that he'd never mentioned this to them, and he replied that he felt this way every single night while shooting the show.
The fact that he concealed it so well within his performance is nothing short of astonishing, and all the more a testament to his skill as an actor.