Matthew Perry almost turned down ‘Friends’ for a sci-fi sitcom

Matthew Perry, who died Saturday at age 54, is beloved for playing Chandler Bing on the NBC sitcom “Friends.”

But he nearly didn’t take the famously funny role.

In 1994, Perry was virtually unknown and, as he said on a 2015 episode of “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” he had “no money.” He needed a gig.

“So I called my agent and said ‘You’ve got to get me any job, any job you can,’” Perry said.

The agent found him one — a bizarre ABC comedy pilot called “LAX 2194,” about, of all things, airport baggage handlers of the future.