Tate Donovan Remembers Matthew Perry as ‘Creative, Funny, Smart Human Being’ on Friends Set

Before attending the opening night of Cirque du Soleil at the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, the 61-year-old told TooFab exclusively what it’s like to watch Friends now Perry has passed away.

“That is just so tough, because of the whole cast, Matt Perry was sort of the leader,” Donovan told TooFab.

“He was the funniest, and he was so kind, and he was especially nice to me. When I did my five episodes, he was just so supportive, and he was the kind of actor that would watch the other actors’ scenes,” he explained.

The OC actor played the role of Joshua Burgin — Rachel Green’s boyfriend in Season 4 — of the sitcom.

“He wouldn’t stay up in his dressing room. A lot of actors, when they’re done, they go up to the dressing room. He would always be out on the floor and watching the scenes and giving ideas. He’s such a creative, funny, smart human being. I just, yeah, it’s just so sad,” he continued.

Perry died at the age 54 in October 2023, after he was found unresponsive in the hot tub at his Los Angeles home. In December 2023, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed Perry died from “the acute effects of ketamine.”

Donovan revealed he “had no idea that he was going through what he was going through” until Perry “wrote his book,” Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir.

Another former costar he spoke about on the red carpet was fellow The OC alum Adam Brody — telling TooFab he, admittedly, has not yet seen Brody’s incredibly popular Netflix series, Nobody Wants This. On the show, he plays the “hot rabbi” Noah, a role which sparked a so-called “Adam Brody Renaissance.”

“My wife has [seen it] but when we were doing the OC, I was just like, ‘Okay, this kid is going to be a huge star’. He’s amazing. He’s so funny. He’s so good,” he recalled to TooFab.

Donovan and Brody starred in the teen drama series, which launched Brody’s career after his brief, stint on Gilmore Girls as Dave Rygalski.

“I’m so happy that he’s getting a great show and he’s going to be the big star that I always thought he was going to be,” Donovan told TooFab, before adding that he knew he was “great” from his early days as Seth Cohen. Donovan played Jimmy Cooper, father to Mischa Barton’s Marissa, on the series.

However, unlike other cult television shows from the ’90s and ’00s getting revivals — like Gossip Girl, Charmed, 90210 — Donovan said there is not talk of The OC coming back.

“I don’t think so. I mean it would be great if there was, but, I mean only fans talk about it,” he explained to TooFab.

“I’ve never heard anything. I speak to Josh [Schwartz] and Stephanie [Savage] and a lot of the cast,” he added, “Nobody’s ever heard any rumors about it.”