Jennifer Aniston: 'Friends' Reboot 'Impossible' Without Matthew Perry

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Jennifer Aniston has ruled out the possibility of a "Friends" sequel or revival, saying it could not happen without her late co-star Matthew Perry.

Speaking to Harper's Bazaar, Aniston said that reprising her role as Rachel Green would be "literally, physically impossible" following Perry's death in 2023.

The actor, who played Chandler Bing in the long-running sitcom, died from accidental drowning after a ketamine overdose at his Los Angeles home.

Aniston described Perry as someone who used humor to manage deep personal struggles.

"It's heartbreaking that he had so many demons," she said. "But boy, for someone who had that much inner turmoil, he sure got to laugh a lot, and that was everything to him."

Reflecting on the 10 years she spent on the series, which aired from 1994 to 2004, Aniston said the experience shaped her both personally and professionally.

"It completely formed who I was. It was pure joy," she said.

"I looked forward to it every day. I couldn't wait to get to work."

"I couldn't wait to see those people. I couldn't wait to read the scripts — we'd shoot the show every Friday night, and right after we wrapped, we'd find the new script for Monday morning in our dressing room," she added.

"I was just as excited to find out what was going to happen as I'm sure the audience was."

While a reboot is not being considered, Aniston said the show remains popular with younger viewers who continue to stream it.

"People will say that they go back and watch episodes to help their mental health — that if they're stressed about the news or the world, they'll just sit down and watch a 'Friends' episode. And that's the ultimate compliment," she said.

Earlier this year, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Aniston revealed that the last time all six cast members reunited was in 2021 for "Friends: The Reunion."

She said that while Perry's death was devastating, his struggle with addiction had been a long and painful one.

"We did everything we could when we could," she said. "But it almost felt like we'd been mourning Matthew for a long time because his battle with that disease was a really hard one for him to fight."

"As hard as it was for all of us and for the fans, there's a part of me that thinks this is better. I'm glad he's out of that pain," Aniston said.

Authorities later charged five people, including two doctors and a dealer known as the "ketamine queen," in connection with Perry's fatal overdose.

Perry had spoken publicly about his decades-long struggle with substance abuse, which led to numerous stints in rehabilitation and several near-death experiences.

He was 24 years old and had just been cast in "Friends" when his dependency on prescription drugs and alcohol began. As the years progressed, so did his addiction.

"I could handle it, kind of. But by the time I was 34, I was really entrenched in a lot of trouble," he said to People in 2022.

"But there were years that I was sober during that time."

At one point, Perry was taking up to 55 Vicodin a day and had dropped 128 pounds. He found support from castmates who "were understanding, and they were patient."

"It's like penguins. Penguins, in nature, when one is sick, or when one is very injured, the other penguins surround it and prop it up."

"They walk around it until that penguin can walk on its own," Perry said. "That's kind of what the cast did for me."

Zoe Papadakis

Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.

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