Matthew Perry has been openly discussing his lengthy road to recovery as well as the difficulties he had when appearing on NBC’s “Friends” and bouncing back and forth between alcohol and Vicodin addictions.
In a passage from his new book “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” actor Matthew Perry describes how a visit from co-star Jennifer Aniston to his trailer led him to realize that his covert drinking habits weren’t that covert after all.
She said “‘I know you’re drinking,” Perry, now 53, writes in the memoir, in an excerpt published by the Times of London.
He continued that he had long since gotten over her ever since she started dating Brad Pitt, he was fine and had worked out exactly how long to look at her without it being awkward, but still, to be confronted by Jennifer Aniston was devastating. And he was confused.
“‘How can you tell?’ I said. I never worked drunk. ‘I’ve been trying to hide it …’”
In another part of the excerpt, Perry talked about how he “never” worked while intoxicated or high (although he “certainly worked hungover”), and he said that his castmates helped him a lot by “grouping around [him] and prop[ping] [him] up” like an injured penguin being supported by the other penguins.
Even though I was hurt, he said, “I was resolved not to let these beautiful people, and this concert, down.”
Aniston, though, made it clear to Perry that day in Perry’s trailer that he was not getting away with anything.
She responded, “We can smell it,” in a strange but loving manner, and the plural “we” hit me hard, Perry said.
I said, “I know I’m drinking too much, but I’m not sure precisely what to do about it.
The “Whole Nine Yards” actor also discusses how his weight varied greatly as a result of booze making him bloated or the drugs making him sick and suppressing his appetite.
If you compare my weight from season to season, you can see how my addiction has evolved: when I’m overweight, it’s drink; when I’m lean, it’s medicines. There are a lot of medicines when I have a goatee.
Perry even made reference to certain moments over the show’s ten-season run to inform readers of his addiction’s current state at those times.
By the conclusion of season three, much of my time was spent figuring out how to obtain 55 Vicodin every day, as I had to do so in order to avoid being quite ill. Making calls, seeing physicians, pretending to have headaches, and tracking down dishonest nurses to provide the care I need were all full-time jobs, according to Perry.
The actor recently declared that now that he has successfully overcome addiction, he is now prepared to share his experiences.
