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Friends star Matthew Perry no more

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US actor Matthew Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing in the hit ’90s TV sitcom Friends, has died at the age of 54.

The actor was found dead at his home in his Los Angeles, law enforcement sources told US media.

Friends, which followed the fortunes of six young friends living in New York City, aired from 1994 until 2004.

Its final episode was watched by 52.5 million in the US, making it the most watched TV episode of the 2000s.

The LA Times and TMZ, which first reported that Perry had died, said the actor was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his house.

A Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson told the BBC that first responders went to an address in the Pacific Palisades area, regarding a “water emergency” of an unknown type, but did not name Perry.

Warner Bros TV, which produced Friends, said “we are devastated by the passing of our dear friend Matthew Perry”.

“Matthew was an incredibly gifted actor and an indelible part of the Warner Bros. Television Group family,” the statement read.

“The impact of his comedic genius was felt around the world, and his legacy will live on in the hearts of so many. This is a heartbreaking day, and we send our love to his family, his loved ones, and all of his devoted fans.”

Born in Massachusetts in 1969, Perry was raised in Ottawa, Canada, where he attended elementary school with Justin Trudeau, who later became Canadian prime minister.

Perry moved to Los Angeles as a teenager. He starred as Chazz Russell in Boys Will Be Boys and also had roles in shows including Growing Pains.

But he became an international star on Friends, a show which followed the lives of six New Yorkers navigating dating, careers and friendship.

The comedy, co-starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow, became one of the most successful shows of all time.

Perry was cast as the awkward Chandler Bing, famous for his sarcastic one-liners. The role earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination in 2002.

Perry battled for years with addiction to painkillers and alcohol, and attended rehabilitation clinics on multiple occasions.

In 2016, he told BBC Radio 2 that he could not remember three years of filming during Friends, because of drink and drugs.

In an interview last year, he spoke about how he did not watch the show.

“I didn’t watch the show, and haven’t watched the show, because I could go, ‘Drinking, opiates, drinking, cocaine,'” he said. “I could tell season by season, by how I looked. That’s why I don’t wanna watch it, because that’s what I see.

“But I think I’m going to start to watch it because it’s been an incredible thing to watch it touch the hearts of different generations.”

Perry also appeared in several films, including Fools Rush In, Almost Heroes and the Whole Nine Yards.

Maggie Wheeler, who played Janice in Friends, was the first of Perry’s co-stars to publicly pay tribute to the actor.

Ms Wheeler said the joy Perry brought to “so many” in his “too short lifetime will live on”.

“I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared,” she wrote on Instagram.

Cruel Intentions actress Selma Blair said Perry was her “oldest boy friend”, adding: “All of us loved Matthew Perry, and I did especially. Every day. I loved him unconditionally. And he me.

“And I’m broken. Broken hearted. Sweet dreams Matty. Sweet dreams.”

(BBC News)

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Boyce Avenue arrives in Sri Lanka

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Popular music group Boyce Avenue arrived in Sri Lanka last night (April 24)  to perform at an upcoming concert.

The band landed at Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport at 10:00 p.m. aboard AirAsia flight AK-047 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

They were warmly welcomed by members of the Sri Lankan concert organizing team upon arrival.

The much-anticipated concert will take place at Waters Edge in Colombo, featuring performances by three Sri Lankan Western music groups alongside Boyce Avenue.

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Ryan Gosling to star in new Star Wars film

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Ryan Gosling is to star in a new Star Wars film, which is set to be released in two years’ time.

The new Disney project is titled Star Wars: Starfighter, and will be directed by Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy.

“The reality is that this script is just so good. It has such a great story with great and original characters,” said Barbie actor Gosling at a Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo.

“It’s filled with so much heart and adventure, and there just really is not a more perfect filmmaker for this particular story than Shawn.”

Gosling’s lifelong passion for the franchise was on display at the event, which showed his childhood Star Wars bedsheets on screen.

“You can see from the picture, I guess I was probably dreaming about Star Wars before I even saw the film,” he said.

“And it’s probably framed my idea of what a movie even was,” he said.

Set to be released on 7 May 2027, the film is a standalone story and won’t follow the main plotline of the Skywalker family and recent sequels starring Daisy Ridley.

Not many details about the storyline have been revealed yet.

According to the Star Wars website, it is “set approximately five years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker” with Gosling playing a new character.

The new space adventure is “not a prequel, not sequel, it’s a new adventure. It’s set in a period of time that we haven’t seen explored yet”, added Levy.

The next Star Wars film release is set to be The Mandalorian And Grogu, a sequel to The Mandalorian starring Pedro Pascal and directed by Jon Favreau.

Gosling was nominated at the Oscars for his portrayal of Ken in 2023’s Barbie blockbuster, which also starred Margot Robbie.

The Canadian actor, known for roles in La La Land and The Notebook, also starred as a stuntman in last year’s The Fall Guy.

(BBC News)

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HBO reveals first cast members for Harry Potter TV series

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Nick Frost, Paapa Essiedu, Janet McTeer and Paul Whitehouse will appear in the forthcoming Harry Potter TV series, US network HBO has confirmed.
Frost has been cast as Hagrid, McTeer will play Minerva McGonagall, and Essiedu will portray Severus Snape. All three were reported to be in talks with the network in recent weeks.

HBO have now formally confirmed their casting, and announced that Whitehouse, well known for the Fast Show and Harry & Paul, will play Argus Filch.

The network also confirmed John Lithgow’s announcement in February that he will play Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

The show is due to begin filming this summer, with the first series airing potentially as early as next year.

The actors playing Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger have not yet been cast.

HBO launched an open casting call for the three lead roles, which reportedly attracted more than 30,000 submissions.

Who are the confirmed actors?

  • John Lithgow, who will play Dumbledore, recently starred in the Oscar-winning Conclave, and has also appeared in 3rd Rock from the Sun, Footloose and The Crown. He won an Olivier Award last week for playing Roald Dahl in stage play Giant, which soon transfers to the West End
  • Paapa Essiedu, who will portray Hogwarts teacher Severus Snape, shot to fame in the TV series I May Destroy You, and has also appeared in Gangs of London and The Lazarus Project. Last year, he starred in The Outrun with Saoirse Ronan, and will appear in a new stage production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons in the West End later this year
  • Janet McTeer, who has been cast as Professor McGonagall, has appeared in films including Wuthering Heights, Albert Nobbs and The Menu, as well as the TV series Ozark and Jessica Jones. Later this year, she will be seen in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
  • Nick Frost, who will play the friendly half-giant Hagrid, is best known for appearing in comedy films Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End and Paul. His TV credits include Spaced and Into the Badlands, and he voices SM-33 in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
  • Paul Whitehouse, who will play Argus Filch, appeared in the BBC sketch comedy series The Fast Show and opposite Harry Enfield in Harry & Paul. He also appears in Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, with Bob Mortimer, while his stage credits include Only Fools and Horses The Musical
  • Luke Thallon, who will play Quirinus Quirrell, has appeared in stage productions including Patriots, Albion and Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt. He was most recently seen in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet, playing the titular role

Showrunner Francesca Gardiner and executive producer Mark Mylod said they were “delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we can’t wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life”.

JK Rowling’s phenomenally successful series of novels has previously been adapted into a film franchise starring Daniel Radcliffe as Potter.

The TV series, however, will have more breathing space to explore the plot lines from the books without the time constraints of the film.

Rowling will serve as an executive producer on the TV series, which HBO has said will be a “faithful adaptation” of her books.

Further casting announcements are expected to follow soon, with rumours swirling about other actors reportedly in discussions about joining, including Cillian Murphy as a possible Voldermort.

(BBC News)

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