Zac Efron says he would be ‘honoured’ to play Matthew Perry in future biopic: ‘I looked up to him’

Zac Efron opened up about his 17 Again co-star Matthew Perry days after his sudden death. Efron remembered Perry while walking the red carpet for the world premiere of his new film The Iron Claw in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday evening, November 8. 

Efron said that he would be open to playing Perry if a biopic is made in the future. Perry had previously expressed that he would want Efron to play his character. 

‘He was a mentor to me’

“I’m honoured to hear he was thinking of me to play him,” Efron told People. He added that he is “devastated” by Perry’s tragic death.

“He was a mentor to me, and we made a really cool film together,” Efron said. “I looked up to him, I learned comedic timing from that guy. I mean, when we were filming 17 Again, it was so surreal for me to look across and have him be there, because I’ve learned so much from him, from his whole life.”

Matthew Perry was keen on making a movie on his life, his friend Athenna Crosby told Entertainment Tonight Canada recently. “He said that he wanted to make a movie about his life,” Athenna said. “And he had worked with Zac Efron in the past on a movie. He said that he wanted Zac Efron to play him as a younger version and that he was gonna ask him soon to do that.”

“He was just looking forward to sharing more about his story and his recovery from addiction, and really championing that cause to help more people,” she added. “So he was so optimistic and happy about everything that he wanted to do.”

Perry died by apparent drowning on October 28. He was discovered dead in the hot tub of his home in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood just after 4 pm.

Perry’s Friends’ co-stars, as well as some of his family members, were seen at Forest Lawn Church of the Hills in Los Angeles on Friday, October 3, where presumably his funeral service was held.

Dressed in black were Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and David Schwimmer, arriving as a group. Also present was ‘Friends’ star Matt LeBlanc, alongside other castmates.

Perry’s father John Bennett Perry, as well as his stepfather Keith Morrison, were seen outdoors, according to New York Post. Notably, the cemetery is opposite the Warner Bros studios. For ten years, Perry and his co-stars filmed the sitcom there.