Julia Roberts has opened up about the unexpected death of Matthew Perry. During a recent interview with ET, the actress reacted to the passing of the Friends star, who she dated from 1995 to 1996 after guest starring on an 1996 episode.

"The sudden passing of anybody so young is heartbreaking," Roberts said. "I think that, you know, it just helps all of us just appreciate what we have and to keep going in a positive way as best we can."

She went on to reflect on her time guest starring as Chandler Bing's childhood classmate in the episode "The One After the Super Bowl." Roberts said of her experience on the sitcom, "All good thoughts and feelings. They were all so welcoming to me as just a kind of a one-off character and it was a really fun time."

Roberts' new film, Leave the World Behind, contains many Friends references according to ET. "It's beautiful he could sort of be honored in that way," her costar Mahershala Ali told the outlet. "Or the show sort of be honored, coincidentally, at this time. So it's kinda nice that it has a little space in there."

On Saturday, October 28th, Perry was found unresponsive in his home jacuzzi at the age of 54. Days after his unexpected passing the entire cast of Friends including Courtney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, and David Schwimmer shared a joint statement before sharing their own personal statements later. "In time we will say more, as and when we are able," the statement read. "For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world."

Nick Wize