Matthew Perry revealed not long before his passing that he’d wanted to reunite with Zac Efron for a special project.
Speaking to reporter Athenna Crosby, who he was spotted having dinner with at the Hotel Bel-Air the day prior to his loss, The Friends star explained that he hoped to reunite with his 17 Again co-star “to make a movie about his life and have a biopic made.”
He explained to Athenna that the reason he “wanted Zac Efron, who's played him already, to play him again [was] because he said he did such a good job”, PEOPLE reports.
Matthew and Zac co-starred in comedy in 2009, in which the former played a down-on-his-luck father with a fraught relationship with his kids whose wife has just filed for divorce. As magic strikes, he is turned back into his 17-year-old self, played by Zac Efron. The film sees his character, Mike, realize that he doesn’t need to redo his life in order to improve his relationship with his family.
This isn’t the first time Matthew had expressed his wish to reunite with Zac. While promoting his memoir in 2022, he spoke to Jessica Shaw of SiriusXM about a screenplay he’d written, reported The Independent.
Matthew said he’d written the lead role for himself but realized he was 20 years too old for the role. When asked by the host who is “dream younger version” of himself was, the actor replied: “Well, it was Zac Efron. But he said no. So, we’ve got to find someone who says yes.”
The Friends star, who was well known for his advocacy for fellow addicts, passed away aged 54 at his Los Angeles home on Saturday after an apparent drowning. There were no drugs found at the scene, nor any signs of foul play according to law enforcement.