Actor Matthew Perry from the United States spoke about his struggles with alcohol and painkiller addiction throughout his career in an interview with People Magazine that was released on Wednesday, October 19.
The actor, 53, admitted that he was on the verge of passing away a few years ago from a gastrointestinal perforation brought on by drug abuse. He continued by saying that doctors had told his family that he only had a “2% chance of life.”
“I was put on an ECMO machine, which manages your heart’s and lungs’ entire breathing process. A Hail Mary is what we call this. Nobody makes it out alive.
Matthew Perry’s colon ruptured, knocking him out for two weeks, forcing him to spend five months in the hospital, and forcing him to carry a colostomy bag for nine months. The actor also underwent 14 stomach surgeries.
Matthew Perry’s weight significantly dropped while Friends was being filmed.
Matthew Perry claimed that he took 55 Vicodin tablets a day while filming Friends, which caused him to lose weight and reach a weight of 128 pounds.
“I didn’t know how to stop. I would begin packing if the police arrived at my house and threatened to send me to prison if I drank tonight. Given that both my illness and my addiction are getting worse, I couldn’t give up. As a result, as you age, it only gets worse.
When Matthew Perry, then 24 years old, was chosen to play Chandler Bing in Friends, his drinking was made clear.
“I could probably handle it. I had, however, gotten myself into a lot of problems by the time I was 34. However, there were times when I was sober and drug-free. I was entirely sober for the first time in season nine. And do you know which season I received the best actor nomination? That ought to tell me something, I reasoned.
After overcoming his obstacles and staying sober, Matthew Perry is now dedicated to helping others overcome addiction. When questioned about his sobriety, he responds, “Your sober date,” and nothing else has changed.
Because you were able to fight your way back without dying, you learn a lot and remember everything you previously know.
Us Magazine claims that Perry’s alcohol and Vicodin addictions both developed as a result of a jet ski accident in 1997. The following year, he sought treatment, but he only managed a brief period of sobriety.
He had alcohol-related pancreatitis in 2000 and spent two weeks in the hospital; by the end of the year, he was detoxing. But the following year, when Serving Sara was being filmed, he started going to rehab.
In 2011, Matthew Perry made it known that he would be taking a break from acting to focus on becoming sober. When Perry’s intestines ruptured seven years later, he had already spent two weeks in a coma. He came back in 2021 to film the Friends Reunion, and Ben Winston, the director of the program, stated it was a pleasure working with him.
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