Matthew Perry Almost Passed on Auditioning for His Star-Making Role as Chandler Bing on “Friends”

Perry — who reportedly died at age 54 on Saturday — was originally set to star on in a pilot for 'LAX 2194' before landing the iconic role on 'Friends'

Matthew Perry almost didn’t get the chance to play Chandler Bing on Friends.

The actor — who reportedly died at age 54 on Saturday — recalled nearly missing out on the opportunity to be part of the NBC comedy during a 2015 appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers. Perry recalled becoming desperate for work in 1994 after his “terrible” manager told him he had “no money.”

“This happened to be the year that Friends was shot, but I was off the market because I had taken a job on a pilot called LAX 2194 that was about baggage handlers at L.A. Airport in the year 2194,” he explained.

Related: Matthew Perry Dead at 54 After Apparent Drowning

“So I was wearing a futuristic shirt,” he added. “And little people played the aliens in which I had to sort out the aliens’ luggage and that was basically the show.”

While he was committed to the role on LAX 2194, he recalled receiving a script for Friends, adding, “It was hilarious and great.”

“There was this part that was perfect for me and it was making me crazy that I couldn't go up for it because [of] the baggage handlers show,” he added. “I was losing my mind.”

Related: Matthew Perry's Friends and Costars React to His Death: 'Shock and Sadness Prevail'

However, his plans changed when an executive at Fox watched the LAX 2194 and called it “the worst thing we've ever seen in our lives.”

He recalled the executive saying, “He is available. You can hire him for your little show called Friends Like Us that then became Friends.”

Perry went to star alongside Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow for 10 seasons on the NBC comedy, which ran from 1994 to 2004.

In his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, he remembered praying for his life to change weeks before the audition for Friends.

"About three weeks before my audition for Friends, I was alone in my apartment on Sunset and Doheny, 10th floor — it was very small, but it had a great view, of course — and I was reading in the newspaper about Charlie Sheen," he wrote, per Insider. "It said that Sheen was yet again in trouble for something, but I remember thinking, Why does he care — he's famous."

Related: Remembering Matthew Perry's Life and Career in Photos

"Out of nowhere, I found myself getting to my knees, closing my eyes tightly, and praying. I had never done this before," he added. His prayer included: "God, you can do whatever you want to me. Just please make me famous."

"Three weeks later, I got cast in Friends. And God has certainly kept his side of the bargain — but the Almighty, being the Almighty, had not forgotten the first part of that prayer as well," he said, seemingly referring to his addiction and health struggles.

Perry was found dead from an apparent drowning at a Los Angeles-area home on Saturday, TMZ reported, citing law enforcement sources.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told PEOPLE that officers responded to a call at Perry's address regarding the death of a male in his 50s, but would not confirm the deceased's identity.

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TMZ was also told that there was no foul play involved, and their sources said first-responders were called to the residence for cardiac arrest.

Representatives for Perry did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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