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Happiness Quote by Matthew Perry

"The goal is to have to do the shot again because the camera guy shook a little bit as he was laughing. Without that happening, I'm not happy because there's nothing better for me than a world that everybody's just trying to make each other laugh"

About this Quote

Perry frames the perfect take as the one that fails, and that inversion tells you everything about his comedic ethic. Most actors chase the clean shot: crisp eyelines, steady camera, maximum control. He’s chasing the opposite - a break so contagious it reaches past the scene and into the crew, the supposedly invisible machinery that keeps the illusion intact. When the camera operator shakes from laughing, the fourth wall doesn’t just crack; it collapses. The “real” world leaks in, and Perry treats that leak as proof the comedy is alive.

The intent here isn’t self-congratulation so much as a declaration of priorities: comedy as communion, not performance. He’s measuring success by the collateral damage of joy. There’s subtext, too, about how he wanted to be needed. Perry’s public persona often carried an edge of vulnerability behind the punchline, and this quote lands as a gentler version of that: if everyone’s laughing together, no one’s judging, no one’s alone, the room is safe for a second.

Context matters. Perry came up in an era of high-output sitcom production where laughter was literally baked in - live audiences, tight schedules, jokes tuned for maximum snap. His fantasy isn’t the polished product; it’s the shared moment that can’t be replicated. In a culture that monetizes content and treats humor as a personal brand, he’s quietly insisting on something older and more human: the best comedy isn’t the line. It’s the chain reaction.

Quote Details

TopicFunny
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Perry, Matthew. (2026, January 16). The goal is to have to do the shot again because the camera guy shook a little bit as he was laughing. Without that happening, I'm not happy because there's nothing better for me than a world that everybody's just trying to make each other laugh. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-goal-is-to-have-to-do-the-shot-again-because-82544/

Chicago Style
Perry, Matthew. "The goal is to have to do the shot again because the camera guy shook a little bit as he was laughing. Without that happening, I'm not happy because there's nothing better for me than a world that everybody's just trying to make each other laugh." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-goal-is-to-have-to-do-the-shot-again-because-82544/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The goal is to have to do the shot again because the camera guy shook a little bit as he was laughing. Without that happening, I'm not happy because there's nothing better for me than a world that everybody's just trying to make each other laugh." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-goal-is-to-have-to-do-the-shot-again-because-82544/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

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Matthew Perry (born August 19, 1969) is a Actor from USA.

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