Highlights
- Matthew Perry and Zac Efron developed a strong friendship while filming “17 Again,” despite not sharing any scenes together.
- The success of “17 Again” helped Perry and Efron expand their careers and secure bigger roles in the industry.
- Perry expressed his desire for Efron to portray him in a biopic before his passing, and Efron is honored by the opportunity and would likely accept the role to honor his friend’s wishes.
Matthew Perry and Zac Efron may have been nearly two decades apart in age, but the two became friends over the course of their careers. The friendship was originally a mentorship from an older actor to a younger one but over time, grew to be that of an appreciation for one another’s acting skills and authenticity as people.
When Perry and Efron were cast together to star in a film, no one, including critics, expected it to be anything but a flop. But despite the cards being stacked against them, their film went on to become a rousing success. The success helped Perry and Efron build their resumes outside their television roles, Friends and High School Musical, respectively, which led to bigger roles for the two as a result.
What is interesting is that Efron and Perry may both have had starring roles in their film, but they never shared any scenes together. Despite this, Perry and Efron became unlikely friends after their movie was a surprise hit and kept this friendship until Perry’s untimely death in October 2023.
Zac Efron And Matthew Perry’s Film ’17 Again’ Did Better Than Expected
In 2009, Efron and Perry were cast in the film 17 Again. The film was about Perry’s character being upset with the direction that his life has gone since he was the star basketball player in high school.
While reminiscing about the good ‘ol days, Perry’s character makes a wish to be 17 years old again — a wish that comes true and Perry’s character turns into his 17-year-old self, played by Efron.
On its face, 17 Again appeared to be like every other body switch movie to hit the big screen. When it was clear that the film dug deeper into the characters than audiences expected it to and was funnier than anticipated to boot, critics took notice.
One critic in particular, Roger Ebert, gave 17 Again a glowing review. This no doubt led to more people hitting the theaters to see it, which ultimately led to a box office gross of $136 million.
“I’ve seen Body Switches before (Tom Hanks in “Big”). The first act of this movie seemed all retread,” Ebert explained. “Then it started to dig in.”
Ebert went on to say, “17 Again” is pleasant, harmless PG-13 entertainment, with a plot a little more surprising and acting a little better than I expected.”
While this may not seem like the biggest of praise, everyone expected Ebert and other film critics to tear the film apart. When that did not happen, Warner Bros. had a hit on its hands and Perry and Efron had their star power boosted as a result.
The fact that the film was a rousing success was not what was as important to Efron and Perry as their friendship was that they took away from the set. One that both Perry and Efron had looked back on fondly over the years.
How Matthew Perry And Zac Efron’s Friendship Grew
Despite the fact that Perry and Efron did not have any scenes together in 17 Again, the two were still able to build a friendship. The friendship started off with Efron looking up to Perry and wanting to absorb all he could from the comedic actor.
As their time together increased, Perry and Efron built a friendship that was apparent when doing press junkets for the film as well as when they walked the red carpet together.
‘Matthew was always available to hang out and kind of work with me on the part. So, yeah, we kind of did become friends,” Efron explained.
Efron went on to say, “He’s got incredible timing. Hanging out with Matthew was probably the most valuable thing that I did. He’s got some very classic mannerisms.”
Perry and Efron were asked to answer some rapid-fire questions as part of an interview they were doing to promote 17 Again. When they were answering the questions, it was clear that the two had a chemistry and a sense of humor that was second to none.
“Is it easier to imitate my facial expression or the way that I talk?” Perry asked Efron.
“You have a very distinct smile,” Efron replied.
“I do?” Perry asked.
Efron said, “Yeah. You go like this.” He then demonstrated the way Perry smiled and the two started laughing.
With how well the two got along on 17 Again and given the performance that Efron gave portraying Perry, it is clear why Perry wanted Efron to play him in his biopic in the future. However, there were more to the similarities that the two had in common than just acting.
Efron, too, had a partying lifestyle that cast a shadow for a time on his acting career — who better to portray Perry than Efron?
Matthew Perry Wanted Zac Efron To Portray Him In His Biopic
Before Perry passed away, he divulged to entertainment reporter, Athenna Crosby that he wanted to make a biopic. Perry also stated that he wanted Efron to portray him in his biopic, a sentiment that Perry was never able to pass along to Efron before he passed but a project that the Iron Claw star would like to tackle nonetheless.
“I’m honored to hear he was thinking of me to play him,” Efron stated. “We’ll see. I’d be honored to do it.”
Efron went on to say, “He was a mentor to me, and we made a really cool film together. I looked up to him, I learned comedic timing from that guy. I mean, when we were filming 17 Again, it was so surreal for me to look across and have him be there, because I’ve learned so much from him, from his whole life.”
Before Perry passed away, he had wanted to work with Efron on another project. However, Efron passed on it. But given the influence that Perry had on Efron’s career and the way he did his comedic timing in films, if the offer does come Efron’s way for the Perry biopic, it would be unlikely that he would turn down the opportunity to portray Perry.
As emotional as it would be to tackle the job of portraying Perry, Efron would take the role to honor his friend. After all, given it was one of Perry’s last wishes, how could Efron possibly say no?
Source: NewsFinale
