Friends star Matthew Perry to pull Keanu Reeves jibe from memoir

Matthew Perry recounted his struggle with substance abuse and addiction in Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing

Friends actor Matthew Perry has pledged to remove "mean" references to Keanu Reeves from future copies of his autobiography.

The star, who played Chandler Bing in the US sitcom, made repeated references to the star in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.

On two occasions, he asked why Reeves "still walks among us" while "talented" actors like River Phoenix had died.

"I said a stupid thing. It was a mean thing to do," Perry admitted.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, he added: "I pulled his name because I live on the same street. I've apologised publicly to him.

"Any future versions of the book will not have his name in it."

He said he had not made amends in person but, "if I run into the guy I'll apologise.

"It was just stupid," he added.

Published last year, Perry's memoir recounted his career-long struggle with substance abuse and addiction.

In it, he describes Phoenix, his co-star in the 1988 film A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon as a genius who was "way ahead" of his time.

"River was a beautiful man, inside and out - too beautiful for this world, it turned out. It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down.

"Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?"

Phoenix died in 1993, aged 23, after an overdose of cocaine and heroin. Heath Ledger died from an accidental overdose of prescription medication in 2008.

Perry has already apologised for the jibe about Reeves, saying he picked the John Wick actor's name at random and was a "big fan".

"I apologise. I should have used my name instead," he said in a statement to People. in October.