Friends star Matthew Perry‘s bravery and honesty in the face of adversity is being lauded as his legacy as much as his signature wit after his death aged 54.
Perry, according to multiple US media outlets, was reportedly found dead on Saturday (Sunday morning in Australia) at a Los Angeles home. No foul play is involved in his death, which reportedly followed an apparent drowning.
Tributes are flowing for the actor, with many commenting on the torment he grappled with behind-the-scenes for years while entertaining millions around the world as Chandler Bing.
READ MORE: ‘What a loss’: Actors in disbelief over Matthew Perry’s death
In 2022, Perry released his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, which delved deep into his battle with addiction over decades and the cost of fame.
His unflinching account of the time before his casting in the hit ’90s show and beyond forced fans of the show to view its golden years from a different perspective.
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Years-long battle with substance abuse came at immense cost
One thing Perry made clear in his memoir was the fact he felt lucky to be alive after surviving multiple brushes with death – something he also referenced 20 years prior in an interview with the New York Times.
“When [fame] happens, it’s kind of like Disneyland for a while. For me it lasted about eight months, this feeling of ‘I’ve made it, I’m thrilled, there’s no problem in the world.’ And then you realise that it doesn’t accomplish anything, it’s certainly not filling any holes in your life,” Perry told the publication in 2002, one year on from achieving sobriety.
“I didn’t get sober because I felt like it. I got sober because I was worried I was going to die the next day.”
READ MORE: Remembering Matthew Perry: The Friends star’s life in pictures
Years later, he estimated to the same publication that he had spent around $US9 million (approx. $14 million) over the years in his quest for sobriety.
He also told Diane Sawyer in October 2022 that he’d been to more than 6000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, detoxed 65 times, attended 15 rehabs, had spent half his life in sober living houses or in treatment, and had been in therapy for 30 years.
It was after a jet ski accident in 1997, while filming Fools Rush In, that Perry became addicted to Vicodin, which eventually morphed into alcohol abuse. That same year, he spent 28 days in rehab in Minnesota, but he only briefly stayed sober at the time.
In May 2000, Perry was hospitalised for two weeks with alcohol-related pancreatitis. Months later, he was detoxing on the set of Friends – and fans noticed a drastic change in his appearance between Season 6’s finale and Season 7’s premiere.
Although the episodes aired five months apart and weren’t filmed at the same time, Season 7’s ’The One With Monica’s Thunder’ picks up on the same day where ‘The One with the Proposal’ left off, which sparked discussion about Perry’s off-screen life.
He would eventually ask for help in February 2001, but it would be a long road to recovery.
Perry told the New York Times in 2002 that with less than two weeks left of filming for Serving Sara he sought help for the first time, which saw the film stop production for two and a half months while he attended a private rehabilitation centre.
“Everything’s clear for one split second,” he told the publication. “I realised, ‘I’ve got to go save myself’. I got on the phone and called the people who were willing to help me.”
Perry’s Serving Sara co-star Liz Hurley later opened up about her experience on-set, saying working with him on the film was a “nightmare” due to his addiction, but emphasising Perry was “incredibly gifted” and a “lovely person”.
In his 2022 memoir, Perry wrote that at one point while filming Friends, he was taking 55 Vicodin pills and drinking a quart of vodka a day.
READ MORE: ‘Makes you feel good’: Perry’s last Instagram post
He maintained he “never” worked high or drunk – though he “certainly worked hungover” – as he didn’t want to ruin the show for his castmates, but Jennifer Aniston did confront him on set about his substance abuse.
“‘I know you’re drinking,’ she said,” Perry wrote. “I had long since gotten over her – ever since she started dating Brad Pitt, I was fine – and had worked out exactly how long to look at her without it being awkward, but still, to be confronted by Jennifer Aniston was devastating. And I was confused.”
He continued: “‘How can you tell?’ I said. I never worked drunk. ‘I’ve been trying to hide it…”
Friends‘ final episode aired in May 2004, and although Perry continued to act – he did, after all, play an older version of Zac Efron in 2009’s 17 Again – his output slowed.
In 2011, he released a short statement: “I’m making plans to go away for a month to focus on my sobriety and to continue my life in recovery. Please enjoy making fun of me on the World Wide Web.”
Matthew Perry used his torment to help others
Two years later, Perry – who was born in Massachusetts in August 1969 – used what he learned while trying to overcome his biggest battle to help others thwart their own addictions.
He opened up the Perry House in Malibu, a sober living home for men, in 2013.
”I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my life and a lot of wonderful accolades,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015.
“The best thing about me is that if an alcoholic comes up to me and says, ‘Will you help me stop drinking?’ I will say, ‘Yes. I know how to do that.'”
‘That’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that’
In 2018, Perry was forced to spend five months in the hospital and undergo surgery to, according to his publicist at the time, repair a gastrointestinal perforation.
It was later revealed his colon had burst due to opioid overuse, and Perry had actually spent two weeks in a coma. He was 49 at the time.
On the publicity trail for his memoir in October 2022, Perry told People that doctors told his family he had a two per cent chance to live at the time.
“I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs,” he told the outlet.
“And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.”
Perry also had to use a colostomy bag for nine months during his 2018 health crisis, which is something he said helped him get sober.
“My therapist said, ‘The next time you think about taking OxyContin, just think about having a colostomy bag for the rest of your life,'” Perry told the outlet.
“And a little window opened, and I crawled through it, and I no longer want OxyContin.”
Two years later, Perry almost died again in rehab. In November 2020, his heart stopped for five minutes after anesthetic administered by doctors interacted badly with the opioid already in his system.
Though his life was saved by CPR, eight ribs were broken in the process, which forced him to pull out of 2021’s Don’t Look Up – something he said left him heartbroken.
”I was told that some beefy Swiss guy really didn’t want the guy from Friends dying on his table and did CPR on me for the full five minutes, beating and pounding my chest,” Perry wrote in his memoir.
“If I hadn’t been on Friends, would he have stopped at three minutes? Did Friends save my life again? He may have saved my life, but he also broke eight of my ribs.”
At the time of his memoir’s release in November 2022, Perry had been sober for 18 months.
If you or someone you know is in need of support for mental health issues contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Alcohol and Drug Support Line on 1800 198 024.