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By Billie Schwab Dunn
Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter
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Jennifer Aniston broke down in tears during a recent interview after a mention of her hit show Friends. A body language expert has told Newsweek the actor is in "despair" due to the death of her co-star and friend, Matthew Perry.
Variety's online Actors on Actors series pairs actors together to talk about their careers and the film industry. In the past, we've seen the likes of Margot Robbie paired with Cillian Murphy, Jodie Foster with Robert Downey Jr., and Timothée Chalamet with Emma Stone. On Thursday, the publication shared a video to its YouTube channel of Aniston speaking to Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson for the series.
During the interview, a producer spoke off-camera, encouraging Brunson to ask Aniston what it's like watching Friends these days, alluding to the death of Perry.
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Aniston played Rachel Green on the show, whose character journeys from a spoilt runaway bride to a successful businesswoman, and Perry played the sardonic Chandler Bing. The beloved sitcom launched the careers of both actors. In October 2023, Perry was found dead at his home at 54 years old. In December, it was determined that his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic used as a treatment for depression and pain management.
"Oh God, don't make me cry," Aniston said once she heard the question.
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"I won't. Don't make—we won't make each other cry," Brunson said. "You're already crying. Do you want a minute? We don't have to talk about [it.]'
"No, no, it's fine, I just started thinking about—," Aniston explained before Brunson said: "I know, yeah. Are you sure? We don't have to—."
"Yeah, no, I'm okay, these are happy tears," Aniston replied as a producer handed her tissues.
Newsweek spoke to a body language about the now-viral moment, who said Aniston's emotional response was most likely because she began to think about Perry.
"Her response about [Perry] is instantaneous though and it comes straight after production prompt [Brunson] to ask about the cast of friends. Jennifer whispers, 'Don't make me cry,' but the tears are knee-jerk before [Perry's] name is even mentioned," Judi James told Newsweek.
"Actual tears well in her eyes so there is no hint of the kind of celebrity dabbing and rubbing of dry eyes that we often see with less authentic displays. Her lips clamp, then she turns her head right up to the ceiling with an expression of despair.
"[Aniston] places her hand over her face, apologizing and at this point, she can't even say [Perry's] name. There is a wry laugh from her as she tries to stop the tears and when she is brought a tissue she uses it professionally to dab and blot, showing she's trying to cope and get on with the show, finally snapping into 'funny' again to recover and carry on."
Newsweek emailed Aniston's publicist for comment on Friday.
Perry starred as Chandler for all 10 seasons of the hit series alongside Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow. The show, which is one of the most popular TV series of all time, followed the lives of its six characters as they navigated love, career, and friendships in New York City.
Following the news of Perry's death, Aniston shared a behind-the-scenes photo of the pair laughing on set followed by a sweet text message she received from Perry on her Instagram account.
The message read: "Making you laugh made my day."
She also shared a poignant scene from the show where Chandler shares his feelings about his friendship with Rachel.
"Oh boy this one has cut deep... Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I've never experienced before," she captioned the post.
"We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love. Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply."
Aniston wrote: "He was such a part of our DNA. We were always the 6 of us. This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be.
"For Matty, he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn't hear the 'laugh' he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard. In the last couple weeks, I've been poring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again. I'll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all. (See the second slide...)"
"Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day... sometimes I can almost hear you saying "could you BE any crazier?" Rest little brother. You always made my day... ❤️🕊️"
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