Wendell Pierce (left) and Matthew Perry.Photo:getty (2)
getty (2)
Wendell Pierceis reflecting on a touching moment he shared with his late costarMatthew Perryon set of their television show,The Odd Couple.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, theSuitsalum, 59, recalls his first impressions of theFriendsactor and how an unlikely Christmas gift became a point of deeper connection.
Pierce notes that Perry’s “very smart, very funny” disposition, and his tendency to be “very generous of spirit,” brought the entire cast together. He credits the late actor and his ability to “recognize the good in folks” for being “the linchpin for the chemistry to bring us together.”
“At one point I remember I gave him a gift, and he loved Batman,” he says. “His love for Batman was not just a fan of the comic or a fan of the character. He really was interested in the study of who that character was, and it was almost as if he were following a historic figure of how they developed and who they are.”
He continues, “I used to tease him about it and all and he goes, ‘Man, no, just think about it.’ He said, ‘When you study Batman, you get into Bruce Wayne, you get into all the different elements.'”
Wendell Pierce and Matthew Perry in ‘The Odd Couple’.Michael Yarish/CBS via Getty
Michael Yarish/CBS via Getty
With Perry’s interest for Batman in mind, Pierce says he “gave him a drone” — but his initial reaction to the gift didn’t pan out as he expected.
“I could tell he was like, ‘Oh, thank you,'” Pierce recalls. “I said, ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘Man.’ I could tell that he was appreciative, but it was just a drone, ‘Oh, that’s nice.'”
It wasn’t until Pierce suggested to Perry, “Wouldn’t that be [in] Batman’s arsenal?” that theFriendsactor realized the meaning behind his gift.
“All of a sudden he was like, ‘Hold it,’ [and] he lit up,” he fondly recalls. “He said, ‘Man, this is a brilliant gift,’ so it was the strangest love and affinity for Batman. That was funny, but at the same time very impressive because he looked at it as a character study, as a student of human behavior. And so, I thought that was great.”
Perry wasfound deadin his home in the Los Angeles area on Saturday after an apparent drowning. He was 54.
Reflecting on Perry’s sudden death, Pierce says it reminded him not to “take relationships and friendships for granted.”
“You have to be proactive and reach out, and so I regret that I haven’t reached out to him in a couple of years,” he shares, noting how the news of his death prompted him to contact the “same folks” he hasn’t spoken to in years.
Matthew Perry.Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic
Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic
As for Perry’s legacy, Pierce says he hopes he’s remembered for more than just his work onFriends, though he acknowledges that he “made one of the greatest television shows in American television history.”
“He actually said it himself in an interview that I recently saw,that he helped people, that he tried to help people, and I hope that’s his legacy because he actually did,” he says. “As I said, the thing that just keeps coming to mind is how generous of spirit he was. That wasn’t just in material things, but the time, and effort, and care of giving to others and thinking of others.”
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In addition to his other great works like17 AgainandStudio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Pierce adds, “For those who don’t know him or didn’t know him, I hope his legacy will be remembered as someone who was generous in spirit.”
source: people.com
