Zac Efron 'Devastated' by 'Mentor' Matthew Perry's Death: 'I Idolize That Guy'

Matthew Perry may have heartbreakingly died, but his iconic role in 17 Again will live forever.

On Wednesday night, November 8, Zac Efron, who played a younger version of Perry's character, Mike O'Donnell, in the hit 2009 film, opened up about the late actor for the first time since his sudden passing at the end of last month.

"Matthew’s been a mentor to me since we worked together on 17 Again years ago," Efron recalled during a red carpet interview at the world premiere of his new movie The Iron Claw in Dallas, Texas.

"He taught me so much. I idolize that guy and the fact that he's gone now is devastating," the 36-year-old sorrowfully expressed of the Friends star — who was found unresponsive in his backyard jacuzzi by his assistant and later declared dead at the scene by first responders on Saturday, October 28.

While there is "nothing official yet," the High School Musical star "did hear that he was thinking about me playing him in the future," as he noted, "that's the biggest honor one can have."

"We'll see. I'd be honored to do it," Efron confirmed to a second news publication, further reiterating how "devastated" he is by Perry's unexpected loss of life.

"He was a mentor to me, and we made a really cool film together," The Greatest Showman star stated. "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."

Efron and Perry — who battled addiction for the majority of his adult life — relate on a more personal level than being among the Hollywood elite.

In 2013, the Disney Channel alum went to rehab, admitting in an interview the following year: "I was drinking a lot, way too much."

"It’s a never-ending struggle," Efron confessed at the time of his battle with substance abuse.

The Hairspray actor continued: "I had done films back-to-back-to-back. I was burnt out. There was something lacking, some sort of hole that I couldn’t really fill up. I was just so deep into my work, it was really the only thing I had."

Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for!

As for Perry, the actor revealed in his 2022 memoir, Friends Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, that he went to rehab 15 different times and attended more than 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

At this time, it is believed Perry was successfully maintaining his sobriety when he died of an apparent drowning at age 54, though the toxicology report has yet to be completed, which will allow the coroner to determine a cause of death.

Efron told Access Hollywood he "idolized" Perry, while detailing to People how much he learned by having the late actor as a mentor.