George Clooney says Matthew Perry ‘wasn’t happy’ while filming Friends

George Clooney has revealed that Matthew Perry 'wasn't happy' while working on Friends.

In an interview with Deadline, the movie star opened up about how Perry had always wanted to be in a sitcom when growing up.

And, in 1994, he soon got his wish when he was cast as Chandler Bing in Friends.

As sitcoms go, it's hard to imagine a more widely-known and well-loved example.

But Clooney, who'd starred in ER at the same time that Friends was first released, shared that the role didn't bring Perry the happiness he had hoped for.

Speaking to Deadline, Clooney said: “He was a kid and all he would say to us, I mean me, Richard Kind and Grant Heslov, was, ‘I just want to get on a sitcom, man. I just want to get on a regular sitcom and I would be the happiest man on earth.'

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc via Getty

“And he got on probably one of the best ever. He wasn’t happy. It didn’t bring him joy or happiness or peace.”

Perry had spoken publicly about his struggles with addiction, which began with alcohol when he was just 14-years-old.

Clooney said: “We just knew that he wasn’t happy and I had no idea he was doing what, 12 Vicodin a day and all the stuff he talked about, all that heartbreaking stuff.

“And it also just tells you that success and money and all those things, it doesn’t just automatically bring you happiness. You have to be happy with yourself and your life.”

Clooney and Perry had known each other from early on, with the Ocean's Eleven star recalling when he first met.

He said: “I knew Matt when he was 16 years old. We used to play paddle tennis together.

"He’s about 10 years younger than me. He was a great, funny, funny, funny kid."

Reisig & Taylor/NBCU/Getty Images

Perry was found in his hot tub on October 28, with a post-mortem examination reporting that he had died from the the acute effects of ketamine.

The 17 Again star had been prescribed ketamine and was taking regular infusions.

In his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, Perry spoke of how he hoped to use his experience and struggle to help other.

He wrote: “The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say ‘yes’ and follow up and do it,'

“When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned.

"And I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that.”