Actor Sean Penn has expressed his admiration for Matthew Perry, who died in October at the age of 54. Penn commended the late actor for his courage regarding his substance abuse issues and hailed him as a “talented guy”. The 63-year-old had experience in that area, with his own son wrestling with an addiction to crystal meth at one time. The Oscar-winner cited a recent chance encounter with Perry in an airport in which he praised his book ‘Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing’. Penn revealed that while he was heartbroken by Perry’s death, he was not “terribly surprised as he knew of the actor’s past struggles. Penn worked with Perry on ‘Friends’ for a brief stint, playing the boyfriend of Pheobe’s sister for two episodes.