Maggie Wheeler, best known for playing Janice on Friends, recently opened up about the deep emotional connection she felt with Matthew Perry after his passing in October 2023. In a heartfelt interview on the podcast Still Here in Hollywood with Steve Kmetko, she explained that Perry’s death hit especially close to home because her own brother had also passed away due to drug addiction.
Wheeler explained that the news of Perry’s death had a huge impact, not just on her, but on people all over the world. “Everyone felt it,” she said, adding that fans who knew and loved Perry as Chandler Bing were affected by the loss of someone who brought so much laughter and joy through his acting.
She shared that what hurt the most was knowing that Perry had struggled for so long with addiction, and despite all his efforts, he couldn’t escape the darkness he was trapped in. “It broke my heart,” she said, “to think he couldn’t make it out of that tunnel.”
Wheeler also talked about a deeply personal and spiritual experience she had after his death. She believes that sometimes people who pass on can show up in the form of birds — a belief she holds close since losing her brother. Shortly after Perry died, she was floating alone in her neighbor’s pool, thinking about her brother and asking him to “look out for” Matthew. In that quiet moment, two hawks flew low overhead, circling her. To her, it was a beautiful and comforting sign that both her brother and Perry were somehow connected and at peace.
Janice, Wheeler’s character on Friends, was famous for her over-the-top laugh and her on-again-off-again romance with Chandler. Though she only appeared in episodes here and there, Janice became a fan favorite over the show’s 10-season run.
As for Matthew Perry, the beloved actor tragically passed away in 2023 from the effects of ketamine use, which was part of a treatment plan but ultimately led to an accidental overdose.
