Matthew Perry speaks more candidly than ever about his decades of battling addiction.
In his next memoir, Friends, lovers and the terrible big thingthe actor — best known for playing Chandler Bing on Friends from 1994 to 2004 — opens with his relationship with drugs and alcohol.
He revealed that his addiction led to serious medical complications, including a burst colon, being on life support and a total of 14 stomach surgeries.
Promoting the book during an interview with People magazine, Perry shed new light on how his time on Friends was plagued by drug and alcohol use, recalling that his addiction first emerged around the time he was cast on the hit sitcom at age 24.
“I could handle it, sort of. But by the time I was 34, I was really entrenched in a lot of trouble,” he told the outlet.
“There were years when I was sober during that time,” he added. “Season 9 was the year I was sober all the way. And guess which season I got nominated for Best Actor? I was like, ‘That should ring a bell.’
As his addiction worsened, Perry revealed he was taking “55 Vicodin” a day, admitting he “didn’t know how to quit”.
In another interview with The New York Times published over the weekend, the actor said he recently celebrated 18 months drug and alcohol free. This suggests he was newly sober at the time of the highly publicized Meeting of friends Last year.
He also revealed the step didn’t come cheap, believing his journey to sobriety – including going to rehab 15 times over the years – cost him a seven-figure sum.
“I probably spent $9 million or something trying to get sober,” he said.
According to the Times, Perry reflects “with gratitude and enthusiasm” on Friends in his book, but also remembers one of the show’s most memorable episodes – Chandler’s marriage to Monica – as a particularly difficult time.
In fact, the 53-year-old actor writes that he was taken to a treatment center after filming the fan-favorite episode, which aired in May 2001.
“I married Monica and was taken back to the treatment center – at the height of my climax in Friendsthe highlight of my career, the iconic moment of the iconic show – in a van driven by a sober technician,” says Perry.
Thankfully, his co-stars were incredibly supportive on set — namely Jennifer Aniston, who Perry says once came to his trailer to confront him about his drinking habits. She told him “in a weird but loving way” that she and the rest of the cast knew he had started drinking again.
“‘We can feel it,'” Aniston said, with Perry adding that “the plural ‘we’ hit “like a sledgehammer.”
Opening up in his People profile, Perry gave rare insight into how his “understanding” and “patient” co-stars rallied around him while filming the sitcom.
“It’s like penguins. Penguins, in nature, when one is sick, or when one is very injured, the other penguins surround him and support him. They go around it until this penguin can walk on its own. That’s kind of what the cast did for me,” he said.
Perry now describes himself as “a healthy guy”, saying the scars from his stomach surgeries serve as “reminders to stay sober”.
“I’m grateful to be alive, for sure,” he said. “And that gives me the ability to do anything.”
#Matthew #Perry #spent #million #sobriety #journey #recalled #treatment #center #filming #Friends