Matthew Perry, who is best known for playing the wisecracking Chandler Bing on the NBC hitFriends, has a book coming out in the coming weeks detailing what it was like to be on arguably the most popular show of its time. As it turns out, co-star Jennifer Aniston helped him get past his demons during this period.
With the book coming out, Perry is also getting candid about who helped him get past his struggles with addiction. When Perry was struggling with substance abuse, he admitted that the oneFriendscast member who reached out during the filming of the show was none other than Aniston, who played Rachel Green.
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In an interview with Diane Sawyer forABC News, Perry admitted that Aniston was the one who confronted Perry and his struggles head-on. In his memoir, Perry revealed that Aniston would directly ask him if he was drunk because she knew how much of a burden his alcoholism was. Perry told Sawyer how much he appreciated Aniston’s willingness to reach out. “She was the one that reached out the most,” Perry said. “I’m really grateful to her for that.” While Perry may or may not confirm this, Aniston’s efforts back then could be the reason why he’s still alive to this day.
This is one of the many instances that Perry got candid about when revealing at length his struggles with his addiction, which include the near-death experience that put him in a coma for two weeks, among other things. When it was revealedPerry was releasing a memoir aboutFriendsand other details, the common speculation was that perhaps he was writing a book to dish some dirt on his co-stars, ala Dustin Diamond withSaved by the Bell. It appears Perry has no axe to grind with his former co-stars but instead wanted to give the whole scope of what it was like to be at the height of his popularity as a celebrity, as well as how troubling life became because of his addictions.
In all honesty, this was brave on Perry’s part to open up about this because even in modern culture, those who struggle or have struggled with addictions are afraid to come out because they are concerned about how they will be judged, especially if they’re a celebrity. For decades, people worshipedthose who worked in Hollywoodbecause they assumed that such fame and glamour made life easier and better for those who attained it. People have come to realize over the past few years that maybe that’s not the case. Perry opening up about what his struggles have been like should more or less be seen as a cautionary tale while also being commendable for telling his truth.
To be fair, though, his substance issues have been public knowledge datingback to whenFriendswas on the air. An actor struggling with substance abuse isn’t exactly new since quite a few of them have died from overdoses. However, Perry giving the public his story will hopefully inspire more struggling addicts to share their story while also inspiring those who want similar popularity that Perry once had to proceed with caution when it comes to alcohol and drugs. In the words of Chandler Bing, this couldsochange many lives.
