In an interview with People Magazine published on Wednesday, October 19, American actor Matthew Perry detailed his career-long struggles with alcohol and painkiller addiction.
A few years back, the 53-year-old actor admitted that he nearly died from a drug-induced stomach perforation. He added that doctors advised his family that he had a “2% chance of survival.”
“I was placed on an ECMO machine, which handles all of your heart and lungs’ breathing. This is called a Hail Mary pass. Nobody survives the ordeal.”
After his colon ruptured, Matthew Perry was comatose for two weeks, hospitalized for five months, and required to wear a colostomy bag for nine months. In addition, the actor underwent 14 stomach operations.
During the filming of Friends, Matthew Perry lost a significant amount of weight.
During the filming of Friends, Matthew Perry reportedly took 55 Vicodin tablets every day, resulting in a weight loss of 128 pounds.
“I didn’t know how to quit. If the police appeared at my house and said, “If you drink tonight, we’ll take you to jail,”
I would immediately begin packing. The progression of my illness and addiction prevented me from giving up. As a result, the condition only worsens with age.”
Matthew Perry was cast as Chandler Bing on Friends at the age of 24 and his alcoholism became apparent.
“I might be able to handle it. Yet by age 34, I had gotten myself into considerable difficulties. There were, however, years in which I was clean and sober. The ninth season was the first in which I was entirely sober. And do you recall the season in which I was nominated for best actor? I thought, “It should tell me something.”
After overcoming his personal struggles with addiction and achieving sobriety, Matthew Perry is now committed to enabling others to do the same. When queried about his sobriety, he responds,
“Your sober date has not altered.”
“Since you were able to fight your way back without perishing, you remember what you previously knew and gain a great deal of knowledge.”
According to Us Magazine, Perry’s addiction to Vicodin began in 1997, following a jet ski accident that also contributed to his alcoholism. The following year, he attended therapy but remained sober for only a brief time.
In 2000, he was hospitalized for two weeks with alcohol-related pancreatitis, and by the end of the year, he was detoxing. The following year, while filming Serving Sara, he entered rehab.
In 2011, Matthew Perry announced that he would be taking a break to work on his sobriety. When his intestines ruptured seven years later, Perry was in a coma for two weeks.
In 2021, he returned to film the Friends Reunion, where the director of the special film, Ben Winston, expressed his satisfaction at working with him.
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