Fallout fans have paid their respects to actor Matthew Perry, who played Benny in Fallout: New Vegas, following his death over the weekend.
While Perry was perhaps most famous for playing Chandler Bing in the ’90s sitcom Friends, he also appeared in films like Fools Rush In, Almost Heroes, Three To Tango, The Whole Nine Yards and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards, and 17 Again.
His time in television was much more prolific, with roles in Ally McBeal, The West Wing, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, The Odd Couple and 2021’s TV special Friends: The Reunion.
Yet, casting an eye over his career, he had only one credit in video games: the antagonist Benny in Obsidian Entertainment’s apocalyptic role-playing game Fallout: New Vegas.
Perry adored Fallout 3, so much so that in an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2009, he admitted to injuring his hand while playing the game.
“I played this video game so often that I injured my hand so severely that I had to go to a hand doctor and get injections in my hand because I love this video game so much,” he said at the time.
“The game is called Fallout 3. I’m not affiliated with this game at all, I just love it. But I signed it, so it looks like I created it.”
For fans, Perry’s performance as Benny was one of the highlights of Fallout: New Vegas, and after the news of his death emerged, tributes were posted to the game’s subreddit.
Pictured: Matthew Perry in the voiceover booth playing Benny, as seen in The Making of Fallout: New Vegas. RIP ❤️ #Fallout #FalloutNewVegas pic.twitter.com/i2kCqVohPo
— Nukapedia – The Fallout Wiki (@Nukapedia) October 29, 2023
“Hands down the best performance in any Fallout game,” praised one.
Others quoted Swank, another Fallout character, when he finds out the news about Benny’s determinant death in the game: “If I know my pal Matthew he’s swinging with the Big Cat upstairs as we speak.”
Fans of Friends have been placing flowers outside the New York apartment building that was used for external shots in the sitcom, and individuals across the entertainment industry have expressed their sorrow for Perry’s passing.