Matthew Perry, the 46 year old actor who we all know as Chandler, revealed to BBC Radio 2 this week that he has a hard time remembering three whole seasons of Friends because of his serious addiction to painkillers in the '90s.
He is currently in London right now preparing for the play The End of Longing, so he was chatting with the BBC about all kinds of things – and of course Friendscame up.
When asked what his least-favourite Friends episode was, Perry replied, “Oh my goodness, I think the answer is I don’t remember three years of it. So none of those… somewhere between Season 3 and 6.”
These photos show the drastic changes Perry went through from the end of one season to the start of the next.
When asked what his least-favourite Friends episode was, Perry replied, “Oh my goodness, I think the answer is I don’t remember three years of it. So none of those… somewhere between Season 3 and 6.”
These photos show the drastic changes Perry went through from the end of one season to the start of the next.
Fans are stunned at this revelation – many knew Perry had a rough go with his addictions during filming, but most outsiders didn't realize how extreme his problems had become.
In an interview with People magazine in 2013, Perry talks about the painkillers he was prescribed after an accident in 1997:
“I [took them] and I felt better than I ever felt in my entire life. I had a big problem with pills and alcohol, and I couldn’t stop.”
He continues, “It was going on before Friends, but it’s a progressive disease. I was never high at work, but I was painfully hungover. Eventually things got so bad I couldn’t hide it and everybody knew. I was a hopelessly narcissistic guy, and I only thought about myself, and then that just shifted, and when that happened, I got some true happiness and comfort in my life.”
“I [took them] and I felt better than I ever felt in my entire life. I had a big problem with pills and alcohol, and I couldn’t stop.”
He continues, “It was going on before Friends, but it’s a progressive disease. I was never high at work, but I was painfully hungover. Eventually things got so bad I couldn’t hide it and everybody knew. I was a hopelessly narcissistic guy, and I only thought about myself, and then that just shifted, and when that happened, I got some true happiness and comfort in my life.”
After a long battle with both pills and alcohol, Perry quit and is now an advocate for other addicts.
He even turned one of his homes in Malibu into a "sober living facillity" called Perry House.
Even though he is missing the NBC tribute to director James Burrows that the rest of his castmates will attend, it is nice to hear that Perry is doing well in jolly London.
"The interesting reason that I can be so helpful to people now is that I screwed up so often," he says. "It's nice for people to see that somebody who once struggled in their life is not struggling any more."
Even though he is missing the NBC tribute to director James Burrows that the rest of his castmates will attend, it is nice to hear that Perry is doing well in jolly London.
"The interesting reason that I can be so helpful to people now is that I screwed up so often," he says. "It's nice for people to see that somebody who once struggled in their life is not struggling any more."
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