Matthew played tennis in his youth, and managed to get to be the number 2 player in Ottawa when he was 13. In doubles, he and his partner made 3rd in the Canadian Championships.

    His mother married Canadian anchorman Keith Morrison when Perry was 10 and proceeded to have four more children: Caitlin, Emily, Willy, and Madeline. At 15, Perry moved to L.A. to test his tennis and acting skills. He moved in with his father, John's second wife, Debbie, and their daughter Marie. He was prepared for his first big U.S. tennis match. Losing the big tennis match in front of his whole family and being discovered by a director, William Richert, in a restaurant whilst skipping school led him to a change of career move.

    In 1985, Perry starred as George Gibbs in the 1985 Buckley School production of Our Town. At 16, Perry got his first big break from a waitress in a San Fernando Valley restaurant. She gave him a napkin with a note written on it by a director who had spotted Perry while dining. Perry auditioned and won a small role in the 1988 River Phoenix film A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon.

    In 1993, Perry and good friend Andrew Hill Newman decided to write their own sitcom, Maxwell's House, which was about the lives of twentysomething friends. Too bad NBC already had a similar sitcom in the works. This sitcom was later known as Friends. In 1994, Perry auditioned for the show and got the part of Chandler Bing.

As well as performing, Matthew enjoys writing.

Filmography:

   1.Three to Tango (1999)
   2.Almost Heroes (1998) .... Leslie Edwards
     ... aka Almost History (1997) (working title)
     ... aka Edwards and Hunt (1997) (working title)
     ... aka Edwards and Hunt: The First American Road Trip (1997)
     (working title)
     ... aka From Here to There (1997) (working title)
     ... aka Westward Ho (1997) (working title)
   3.Fools Rush In (1997) .... Alex Whitman
   4."Friends" (1994/I) TV Series .... Chandler Bing
   5.Getting In (1994) .... Randall Burns
     ... aka Student Body (1994)
   6.Parallel Lives (1994) .... Willie Morrison
   7."Home Free" (1993) TV Series .... Matt Bailey
   8.Deadly Relations (1993) (TV) .... George Westerfield
   9."Sydney" (1990) TV Series .... Billy Kells
  10.Call Me Anna (1990) (TV) .... Desi Arnaz Jr
  11.She's Out of Control (1989) .... Timothy
  12.Dance 'Til Dawn (1988) (TV) .... Roger
  13.Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, A (1988) .... Fred Roberts
     ... aka Jimmy Reardon (1988)
  14."Second Chance" (1987) TV Series .... Chazz Russell
     ... aka "Boys Will Be Boys" (1987)
 

TV guest appearances:

   1."Caroline in the City" (1995) as "Chandler Bing" 1996
   2."John Larroquette Show, The" (1993) 1995
   3."Dream On" (1990) as "Alex"in episode: "To The Moon, Alex!" 10/31/1992
   4."Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990) as "a tennis player" 1990/1991
   5."Who's the Boss?" (1984) as "Benjamin"in episode: "Roomies" 1990
   6."Just the Ten of Us" (1988) as "Bob" 1989
   7."Empty Nest" (1988) as "older Billy"
   8."Tracey Ullman Show, The" (1987) as "Craig"
   9."Growing Pains" (1985) as "Carol's boyfriend Sandy"
  10."Charles in Charge" (1984)