MATTHEW Perry has been spotted for the first time in six months during the Los Angeles lockdown after the Friends reboot was postponed.
In these exclusive pictures, the 50-year-old actor looks unrecognizable from his sitcom days as he steps out with gray hair and stubble.
The Friends star, who played kooky Chandler Bing in the popular 90s sitcom, is seen wearing an untucked black T-shirt, baggy checked blue shirt, loose black sweatpants and green Converse sneakers during the rare public outing in LA.
Matthew’s appearance comes after he joked with fans on Instagram about nude baking as he referenced his famous character’s sense of humor.
Sharing a photograph of a plate of oatmeal raisin cookies, he told fans: “I made these by the way. Also I’m not wearing any pants. #gettingreadyforsomeseriousnudeeating.”
The Sun understands the actor is not alone in quarantine and is isolating with sober pals and close team members after years of very public drug and alcohol problems.
He is not believed to be in lockdown with his girlfriend, talent manager Molly Hurwitz.
The Sun revealed earlier this year that the pair had been secretly dating for two years after she wished him a happy Valentine’s Day on Instagram.
The sitcom star was reportedly looking for love on celebrity dating app Raya before meeting 29-year-old Molly, who has been described as his “rock.”
Matthew and his quarantine crew have kept themselves busy in isolation, spending time playing with a LEGO replica of the Friends cast at the famous fictional coffee shop Central Perk in New York, along with cooking and watching movies together.
However, the actor hinted he was finding lockdown difficult on April 17, posting to his 6.7 million fans on Instagram: “Why is today especially hard???” as hundreds of followers replied with messages of support.
Matthew was set to be reunited with his Friends co-stars David Schwimmer (Ross), Courteney Cox (Monica), Jennifer Aniston (Rachel), Matt LeBlanc (Joey) and Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe) last month to film the eagerly-awaited special to launch HBO Max.
Each of the six core stars is poised to receive between $2.5 million and $3 million for the non-scripted episode shot on the show’s iconic Stage 24 of the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank.
However, the reunion was postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It is believed the reunion will now not take place until next year, while the streaming service still launches on May 27 with the Friends back catalog.
A source previously told The Sun: “It looks like the reunion might have to be scheduled for next year now.
“It was difficult enough getting everyone on board for filming in March and it will be incredibly hard to get them all together at the same time again.”
Matthew, who hasn’t been on TV since the cancelation of his CBS show Odd Couple three years ago, had recently bounced back following years of health issues.
The troubled actor has been open about his long-time battle with addiction and checked himself into rehab twice during his time on Friends, his first being in 1997 to treat his addiction to prescription pills after getting hooked following a skiing accident.
He then returned in 2000 to deal with alcohol issues.
Talking about his time on the show, Matthew previously said: “I was in the white-hot flame of fame. The six of us were just everywhere all the time.
“From an outsider’s perspective, it would seem like I had it all. It was actually a very lonely time for me because I was suffering from alcoholism.
“It was going on before Friends, but it’s a progressive disease. I wasn’t a massive party guy. I wasn’t a bull-in-a-China-shop kind of drinker.”
In 2018, he suffered further health problems when he was hospitalized for three months after undergoing emergency surgery on a ruptured bowel.
When it appeared he had bounced back, Matthew then worried fans in May last year by revealing on Twitter: “I got kicked out of therapy today,”
He later added: “Easy guys, it was just one session. I’m back in therapy where I belong.”
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS.
