Q&A Matthew Perry

The former Friend is starring in Mr. Sunshine, a new ABC comedy he created about the manager of an entertainment arena who’s turning 40 and re-examining his life. Perry talked to TIME about getting older, writing scenes and all that money he made from Friends.

You came up with the idea for this show, and you turned 40 a year and a half ago. So how much of it is based on you?

Some of it is based on me. I like to think I’m a little less selfish than this character, but at times in my life, I certainly have been that way. I’ve been accused of not really paying attention to a sentence unless my name comes up in it twice.

What was the writing process like?

When I did Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, I would look over and see Aaron Sorkin pacing around in the corner of the stage, mumbling to himself. I thought, Well, he’s crazy. And then I realized what he was actually doing was playing out the next week’s scenes as he was writing them. And that was intriguing to me. So now I’ve become one of the people that mumbles in the corner of a room.

It sounds intense.

You know, I went from playing a video game, essentially, for a year to coming up with a job that makes you really busy.

By the end of Friends, you were making $1 million per episode. Does having so much money change your perspective on life?

We all got lucky, and we’re extremely grateful for that luck, but the old adage that it doesn’t make you happy is certainly true.

I feel like I know you well enough now that I can ask you this: Can I borrow some money?

Um, that’s the other thing you learn: when people borrow money, they never pay you back. So I guess no would be the answer.