In a New York Times interview published in October 2022, Perry said he had been clean for 18 months, telling the newspaper: “I’ve probably spent $9m or something trying to get sober.”

Perry recounted in his book that he had to be driven back to rehab right after shooting the episode of Chandler and Monica’s wedding.

Following Friends, Perry went on to star in three more network television ventures that proved short-lived: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Mr Sunshine and Go On.

Through his career, he also logged guest appearances or recurring roles in other hit TV shows, including The West Wing, Ally McBeal, Scrubs and Beverly Hills, 90210. His motion picture credits included Fools Rush In, The Whole Nine Yards, Almost Heroes and Three to Tango.

The Massachusetts-born actor grew up in Ottawa after his mother, a Canadian journalist who once served as press secretary to former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, divorced Perry’s father and married a Canadian broadcast personality.

Trudeau’s son and incumbent Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid tribute to his boyhood friend, calling Perry’s death “shocking and saddening”.

“I’ll never forget the schoolyard games we used to play, and I know people around the world are never going to forget the joy he brought them,” Trudeau wrote on X.

As a youngster, Perry became a top-ranked junior tennis player before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting and improvisational comedy.