Friends creators asked Matthew Perry if he wanted to leave the sitcom after becoming aware of his addictions.
The beloved actor was known for his infamous role as Chandler Bing in the long-running show in the 1990s. When the show came to an end after a decade in 2004, the actor went on secure several other major roles in films such as 17 Again, The Ron Clark Story and The End of Steve.
But his success didn’t come without it’s struggles. The late actor openly shared his struggles with drink and drug addiction throughout his acting career.
READ MORE: Inside Matthew Perry’s death – addiction battles, chilling final words and eye-watering will
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Perry sadly died in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023, from the “acute effects of ketamine.” His battle with addiction first started just three years into filming Friends when he got hooked on painkillers following a jet ski accident in 1997.
(Image: Getty Images Europe)
The actor became addicted to Vicodin and continued taking the pills even after his injuries has healed. Now, Friends creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane have opened about the star and learning about his addiction during the show.
In an interview with The Times, Crane, 67, explained that they offered the star to take a break from filming to get clean during the show. They told the publication: “By the time we became aware of it, we were already a family on a lot of levels.
“There was a point where we said to him, ‘Do you want to stop [being in the show]?’ And he was adamantly like, ‘No, this is really important to me’.”
(Image: NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
In 2002, the actor told People magazine how he got addicted to prescription drugs. He told the outlet: “It wasn’t my intention to have a problem with it.
“But from the start, I liked how it made me feel, and I wanted to get more.” Fans of the show quickly noticed that Matthew had suddenly lost weight and became concerned about his health.
He went on: “I was out of control and very unhealthy,” jokingly adding: “I returned to my original birth weight.” In his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry opened up about his addiction and how it affected his performance on the show.
The actor wrote: “You can track the trajectory for my addiction if you gauge my weight from season to season. When I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny, it’s pills. When I have a goatee, it’s lots of pills.”
(Image: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
In his tell-all book, Perry revealed that one of his stints in rehab took place immediately after filming Chandler’s wedding to Monica Geller, played by Courtney Cox. He recalled how he was “driven back to the treatment centre… in a pickup truck helmed by a sober technician” right after the scene ended.
He revealed in his book that season nine was the only season of the show that he was fully sober for. Perry recounted that he went to rehab 15 times and had undergone 14 surgeries to try and rectify the damage done to his stomach lining dur to alcohol and opioid abuse.
The late actor also estimated that he had spent approximately £7million trying to get sober throughout his career. Want all the biggest Showbiz and TV news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Showbiz newsletter.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
