A “devastated” Zac Efron says he’d be “honored” to play ’17 Again’ co-star Matthew Perry in a biopic

Efron and Perry at 2009’s ’17 Again’ premiere — Lester Cohen/WireImage

According to one of Matthew Perry‘s best friends Athenna Crosby, he was close to asking his former 17 Again co-star Zac Efron to play him in a biopic project, before his untimely death on October 28.

To People, Efron noted that he’d be “honored” to do it.

The actor was at the premiere of his new wrestling movie, The Iron Claw, Wednesday night when he was asked about Perry. “I’m honored to hear he was thinking of me to play him,” Efron expressed. “We’ll see. I’d be honored to do it.”

Efron said he was devastated by Perry’s death, noting, “He was a mentor to me, and we made a really cool film together.”

He added, “I looked up to him, I learned comedic timing from that guy. I mean, when we were filming 17 Again, it was so surreal for me to look across and have him be there, because I’ve learned so much from him, from his whole life.”