Matthew Perry, a former cast member of “Friends,” claims in his new biography that his battle with drug addiction ultimately resulted in a near-death experience when he was 49.
American actor Matthew Perry, best known for portraying Chandler Bing in the popular sitcom “Friends,” has opened up about his battle with addiction.
According to Perry, who added that he spent two weeks in a coma, “the doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live.” “I have put on something called an ECMO machine, which takes care of your heart and lungs’ breathing for you.”
The publication stated that he later spent five months in the hospital and nine months using a colostomy bag.
According to People, Perry claimed that when he was 24 and joined the “Friends” cast, his alcohol addiction had only recently started to take hold. He eventually began taking up to 55 Vicodin pills each day, according to what he told the entertainment portal.
He recalled his time on the show to People, adding, “But there were years where I was sober throughout that time. “Season 9 was the first season that I completed sober. And guess for which season I was the best actor nominee? That should tell me something, I thought.
Perry, who has had 14 stomach operations and 15 stays in rehab, told the magazine that he is “quite healthy today” and that he believes that sharing his experience, can help those who are also struggling with addiction.
Perry opened his frank autobiography by describing how, at the age of 49, he was in a life-or-death struggle. He reportedly said, “The doctors told my family that I had a 2% chance to live,” according to the media outlet. Perry, 53, first required hospital admission due to drug misuse.
He struggled with gastrointestinal perforation, which led to the rupture of his colon. The actor had to use a colostomy bag for nine months, spent two weeks in a coma, and spent five months in the hospital, according to the publication.
Perry, who was 24 at the time, struggled with substance usage despite being one of the most popular performers in the 1990s. “I could kind of manage it. But when I was 34, I was deeply mired in a lot of difficulties “According to People magazine, he admitted.
According to the source, Perry went to drink and drugs and became dependent on Vicodin as a result of a jet ski accident in 1997.
Perry dropped down to 128 pounds while taking 55 pills a day during his ascent to prominence. Perry will begin his one-month tour in November in New York and conclude it in Toronto, with two of the shows in New Jersey and Canada already sold out.
The movie “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” will debut on November 1.
I believed it was high time the public heard from me. The highs and lows were both very high. However, at moments when it seemed as though I wouldn’t, I survived to tell the story. It’s all here, too. I regret that it is not a pop-up book.