[1988]

Even young men are "discovered" by the movies, as MATTHEW L. PERRY, eighteen, can attest. "I was sitting with friends in a Ventura Boulevard cafe when the waitress passed me a note. It said, 'I want you to read for a role in a movie I'm directing.' I was skeptical, but I called the number, got the script, read a few times -- and got the part." Though "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon" is his first film, Matthew has been working steadily since playing Jimmy's sober best friend Fred Roberts. He can currently be seen in the role of Chazz Russell in the Fox Broadcasting Company comedy "Second Chance" (aka "Boys Will Be Boys"). He has completed a CBS pilot, "Morning Maggie" with Ellen Greene, and made guest appearances on the television series "Silver Spoons," "Charles In Charge," "240 Robert" and the Emmy-winning "The Tracey Ullman Show." Matthew rounds out his work with stage experience, from doing stand-up comedy at The L.A. Connection to various stage productions of "Our Town," "The Sound of Music," "The Miracle Worker" and "Lord of the Flies." Born in Massachusetts, Matthew moved to Canada at the age of six months. He lived in Ottowa, Montreal and Toronto before coming to Los Angeles three years ago to live with his father. While Matthew is busy these days, he hopes to continue his education. He has chosen acting as his career, but says laughingly, "It could go either way. In five years I could end up selling Amway!"