Zac Efron says he would be honored to play Matthew Perry in a biopic after hearing the late actor wanted to cast him

After the death of the actor Matthew Perry Earlier this month, we reported that Perry had confided in a friend that he hoped to make a biopic based on his life. Her friend Athenna Crosby recently told Entertainment Tonight Canada:

“He said he wanted to make a film about his life. And in the past you had worked with Zac Efron on a film. He said that he wanted Zac Efron to play him in the younger version and that he would ask him to do it soon.

He went on to add:

“He was looking forward to sharing more about his story and his recovery from addiction, and really supporting that cause to help more people. So she was so optimistic and happy with everything she wanted to do.

Perry co-starred with Efron in the 2009 teen fantasy comedy 17 again, in which Perry’s character is magically transformed back into his 17-year-old self. The two actors played the same character at different ages.

Now that this news has been shared, Efron has responded, spilling the beans Popular magazine on the red carpet for his next drama, The Iron Claw:

“I’m honored to know he was thinking of me to play him. We will see. I would be honored to do so. He was a mentor to me and together we made a really fantastic film. I admired him, I learned comedic timing from that guy. I mean, when we were filming ’17 Again,’ it was so surreal for me to look across and see him be there, because I learned so much from him, from his whole life.

It’s really nice to hear. I don’t know if this project will ever get off the ground without Perry at the helm, but if so, it would be nice to see Efron back in the role. I think he did a great job of capturing Perry’s mannerisms 17 againand I think he would do a great job playing him in another role.