Matthew Perry Shares A Heartbreaking Yet Hilarious Message For Bruce Willis
In the '90s, Matthew Perry and Bruce Willis were two of the biggest stars in entertainment. Famous for his breakout role in "Die Hard," Willis returned for the 1990 sequel, "Die Hard 2," which dominated at the box office with a once-record $3.7 million in revenue before it even officially opened, per the Los Angeles Times. Despite more memorable movie roles in the decade including "Pulp Fiction" and "The Fifth Element," Willis never earned an Oscar nomination, per IMDb. Meanwhile, on TV, Perry had fans in stitches as Chandler on "Friends." The show debuted in 1994 and ran for 10 seasons. Perry also appeared in a few major film roles, like the romantic comedy "Fools Rush In."
At the start of the new millennium, Perry and Willis were the top-billed actors in the film "The Whole Nine Yards." Perry reportedly bet Willis that he would have to guest appear on the sitcom if their film opened at number one at the box office, per CBR. "I was on 'Friends' because I lost a bet to Matthew Perry," Willis later revealed to Wired. The pair later returned for the sequel, "The Whole Ten Yards."
In 2022, Willis' daughter Rumer revealed in an Instagram post that Willis was suffering from aphasia. The disease, which causes people to have difficulties in speaking among other symptoms, has affected other celebrities like Emilia Clarke from "Game of Thrones," the Los Angeles Times reported. Now, Perry is showing support for his former co-star.
Matthew Perry's kind words for Bruce Willis
In light of Bruce Willis' diagnosis and an outpouring of support from fans and fellow actors, Matthew Perry took to social media to talk about his friend. "Dear Bruce Willis, I'm so sorry to hear what you are going through, but you're still the coolest man I've met in my entire life," Perry wrote on Twitter. "You will remain in my prayers for a long long time," he added. Perry was still nostalgic about their time on set together and hoped the two could reunite again and reminisce. "Maybe we should get together and watch the whole 10 yards and get a couple of hours of sleep," Perry concluded in reference to "The Whole Nine Yards" sequel.
According to the "Friends" star, the idea for "The Whole Ten Yards" started the day after the original film had a great debut. More than just money, "the reason we are here doing it again is we all like the ensemble cast and we all had such a blast doing the movie," Perry told Blackfilm in 2004. Though Willis was often known for playing more serious roles, he showed off his comedic skills in the two films. He said one of the reasons his pairing with Perry worked so well was that, in his opinion, "I think that we understand timing." Willis added that his funny side stems from his early days before becoming a big-name star, admitting, "I was a class clown in 1976."