Green, 45, revealed that the cast of the beloved show reunited at Gabrielle Carteris‘ house to honor Perry after his death.
“People I haven’t seen in like, 18 years at least,” Green said.
“It was very mixed emotions, because you were happy to everybody and you felt like, ‘God, it’s been too long,’ and it was great, but what a horrible reason to have to see everybody again. It was definitely interesting.”
“We all knew that at some point we would have to deal with losing cast members and friends, but not this soon,” he said.
“Not at 52. Not in such an abrupt way.”
Luke died after he suffered a shock stroke.
Green said he’s still struggling to come to terms with the loss.
“I don’t totally believe it. There’s a part of me, much like the death of Elvis, that I expect Luke to walk around a corner in an airport or at a gas station,” he said.
“I don’t fully believe that Luke is gone. Luke has been in my life for a long time, and we had a really special relationship. I’m learning now that Luke really had a special relationship with a lot of people.”
“I even texted him after he had passed, knowing obviously that he can’t text me back, but on some level hoping that he would text me back or that he was out there somewhere,” he admitted. “And I know he is. I know he’s looking down and I know he’s smiling. … Knowing Luke, he is not one that wants us to mourn him. He wants us to celebrate him.”
Green said Perry was “a glue type of person” who remained “so consistent” throughout the years.
“Luke was a really f—ing cool guy,” he said. “Luke was one of those people that nobody had a bad story about. He was just a great guy. And he was Luke, no matter where you saw him, no matter when you saw him, no matter what he was going through. He was a rock.”
“I’m extremely lucky to have had him in my life. He really is a great guy and he’ll be missed,” he continued. “He was the guy that you would go to if you wanted someone consistent. You knew how he was going to react. You knew he was going to say something funny. He was really sharp-witted. He was just really honest.”
Green said Perry’s death is a “smack in the face” reminder of how precious life is.
“The one thing Luke did — not the one thing, but something that really meant a lot to me was he gave amazing hugs,” Green recalled.
“I know that sounds silly, but he was one of those people, I think the only person in my life, that when he hugged you he would breathe you in. It meant the world to him to take your time and be in your presence. If you spent an hour and a half at lunch with him, for an hour and a half he was just completely engulfed in your life and how you were feeling and what was going on. People don’t do that anymore. People don’t spend time with people and really experience them and get to know them and love them for who they are.”
“I think that’s why he touched so many people,” he added. “Because he was just really good at being present. I think people that met him, they felt really important to him. And it made them feel important.”
