This is a photo of Matthew Perry encountering millennials on the street in January. They’re all excited to meet Chanandler Bing, and he was gracious in response. The cigarette, ugh. But I will always have a soft spot for Perry. He’ll always be my favorite Friend, and I keep rooting for him to find the right mix on another television show.

With that said, I caught The Odd Couple last night, and the inner Chandler Bing voice spilled right out: “Could this BE any more awkward?” Perry was fine as Oscar, he’s a trooper. Thomas Lennon seems tailor made for the role of uptight Felix. Yvette Nicole Brown worked her lines too, but the show is a stinker. The writing isn’t funny, and the laugh track is one of the most obnoxious I’ve heard. Perry’s pushing through the publicity. He has a charming new interview that’s much better than his show:

On being recognized: “Friends definitely had that magic attached to it. It had great casting, great directing, great writing. It hasn’t been off the air since we finished shooting it, and now, with Netflix, it’s getting a new audience and I am getting recognised in the street by people who weren’t even alive when we actually shot the show … who are very confused … by how old I look.”

He’s addicted to humor to a fault: “I come from a funny family, and I’ve always been more comfortable in an atmosphere that was lighthearted. But I got to a point where I was kind of addicted to it. I always wanted to fill the silence with a joke — and that’s not an especially healthy way to be. It was like that going out with girls. If you made a joke on the first and second date she would love it. But if you were still making jokes on the seventh date, she’d be saying: ‘One more joke and I’m going to kill you!’”

Still looking for love? “I love children. I have a lot of much younger brothers and sisters so I was always babysitting as a kid. I have godchildren, whom I love, and I look forward to being a father. I think I’ll be wonderful at it. There’s just one important step to be taken first. Like being able to go on a second date …”

Overcoming his struggles: “I’m a little older, a little wiser. I have spent a lot of time trying to get centered in my life and to be a little less anxious and nervous, and I think I’m succeeding. Yes, it’s been well-documented that I’ve had my own troubles in life, and you can’t help but use those as a springboard to try to become better or you sort of get lost in the darkness of it all. My life is a lot less about myself now. I get much more of a kick out of helping people than out of anything else I do, including acting. So out of darkness comes light.”

[From Daily Mail]

Perry also talks about his struggles with sudden fame and how he coped with drugs. We’ve covered that before. He seems healthier now, and hopefully it will stick. I completely empathize with his addiction to humor to lighten an uncomfortable silence. That can wreak havoc on a budding relationship. Perry dated Lizzy Caplan for a few years, but they’ve been over for awhile. He says he can’t find a woman who will go out with him on a second date. Assuming he no longer goes three months without changing bedsheets, he’ll get there eventually.

Vintage Friends cast photos! I couldn’t resist.

Photos courtesy of WENN & NBC