Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is a Canadian-American actor and writer. He is mostly known for his role as Chandler Bing on the long-running NBC television sitcom Friends, as well as his portrayal of Ron Clark in the 2006 television movie The Ron Clark Story. Along with starring in the short-lived television series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Perry has appeared in a number of films, including Fools Rush In (1997), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), and 17 Again (2009). In 2010, he expanded his résumé to include both video games and voiceover work when he voiced Benny in the role-playing game Fallout: New Vegas. He holds dual American and Canadian citizenship.
Perry was the co-creator, co-writer, executive producer and star of the ABC sitcom Mr. Sunshine, which ran from February to April 2011. In August 2012, Perry began starring as Ryan King, a sportscaster, on the NBC sitcom Go On. The series was canceled on May 10, 2013.
Perry co-created and currently stars in the CBS sitcom The Odd Couple portraying Oscar Madison. On May 11, 2015, the series was renewed for a second season.
Perry moved from Ottawa to Los Angeles to pursue acting and attended The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks. While at Buckley, Perry was featured as George Gibbs in Our Town and appeared as a junior in a production of The Miracle Worker. Patty Duke attended and praised the young Perry's convincing role as Helen's brother Jimmy. He was also featured in The Sound of Music as a junior. In his senior year, director Tim Hillman had planned a production of "The Elephant Man" specifically to feature Perry as John Merrick along with Vanessa Smith, and future Les Misérables star Lisa Capps. He then got his professional break at age 18. On being cast in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon with River Phoenix, Perry withdrew from Elephant Man and ended his high school acting career. Perry also pursued improv comedy at the LA Connection in Sherman Oaks while still in high school, quickly becoming a featured performer.
After some guest appearances in mid-1980s television, it was his intention to enroll at the University of Southern California before he was offered the lead role of Chazz Russell in Second Chance, and became noticed on the acting scene. Perry originally starred alongside Kiel Martin when the series premiered in 1987, but after 13 episodes, the format changed: Second Chance became Boys Will Be Boys, Perry was elevated to top-billing status, and the plots re-focused on the adventures of Chazz and his teenage friends. Despite the shift, the show ran for only one season. When it concluded, Perry stayed in Los Angeles and made a guest appearance on the television program Growing Pains in which he portrayed Carol's boyfriend who dies from injuries in the hospital sustained in a drunk driving accident.