Tragically, Matthew Perry, who was adored for his role in “Friends,” died at the age of 54. He left behind an unfinished project called “Mattman,” which piqued the interest of both fans and coworkers. With the message “I’m Mattman” and a picture of himself in his hot tub with a view of the Pacific Palisades, Perry’s mysterious Instagram post from October 22 has generated a lot of interest and conjecture.
Perry was declared dead in the same hot tub, just six days after publishing this mysterious post. The significance of “Mattman” remained a mystery as fans and conspiracy theorists on TikTok tried to figure out whether it was a code or a call for assistance.
“Mattman” was actually a product of Perry’s intense fascination with Batman, a character he was completely smitten with. In 2017, the late actor spent $20 million building a 10,000-square-foot “mansion in the sky” with a “bat cave” to store his vast collection of Caped Crusader artifacts. In fact, Perry’s affection for Batman was evident in the last chapter of his addiction memoir from 2022, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” which is titled “Batman.”
Perry saw “Mattman” as his project that would propel him back into the public eye and serve as his comeback vehicle. Perry approached director Adam McKay on the “Don’t Look Up” set in November 2020 and expressed his wish to produce the film. Perry’s past battles with opiate addiction raised health worries, but McKay was keen to work with the gifted actor and placed him alongside Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, and Jonah Hill in a small role as a television news presenter.
On set, though, Perry’s failing condition was revealed. McKay remembers Perry’s lack of enthusiasm and general sickly appearance. Though it was hoped that Perry’s involvement in a well-known film would spark his career, it soon became apparent that he was up against formidable obstacles.
Perry pitched McKay his “Mattman” concept in between takes, describing a tale in which a well-known middle-aged man gains $2 billion and becomes a superhero. Though McKay found the idea intriguing, he also perceived it as a window into Perry’s mind, possibly an appeal to his own higher power in the midst of personal turmoil.
Inspired by Perry’s actual experiences, McKay offered a different concept for a show that would examine the difficulties of being a well-known TV celebrity battling addiction. Perry, though, seemed uninterested in this idea.
Sadly, Perry’s addiction problems didn’t go away, and he had to pretend to be in agony in order to get a prescription for OxyContin when he flew to a treatment center in Switzerland. Sadly, Perry’s character was finally removed from “Don’t Look Up,” which was a setback for a project that could have been important for his career.
Even though Matthew Perry is no longer with us, his legacy endures thanks to his work and the recently established Matthew Perry Foundation, which carries on his purpose of helping individuals who are addicted. “Mattman” is an incomplete work of art that serves as a moving reminder of both Perry’s love of storytelling and the difficulties he overcame in his own life.