NEWSMatthew Perry Says His Changing Appearance On 'Friends' Indicated His Addiction Struggles
Oct. 26 2022, Updated 3:00 p.m. ET
Though Friends may have recounted the misadventures of pals Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Phoebe Buffay, Joey Tribbiani, Chandler Bing and Ross Geller, it seems there was another plotline secretly playing out in the background of the iconic show — actor Matthew Perry’s battles with substance abuse.
In his already-explosive forthcoming memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry revealed that his struggles with drugs and alcohol seemingly translated on the small screen, thanks to his changing appearance amid the series’ 10-year run.
“You can track the trajectory for my addiction if you gauge my weight from season to season,” explained the sitcom staple, who portrayed Chandler on the show.
“When I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny, it’s pills,” the star explained of his weight, which he says fluctuated “between 128 pounds and 225 pounds” throughout filming.
MATTHEW PERRY SPENT $9 MILLION 'TRYING TO GET SOBER' THROUGHOUT LIFELONG ALCOHOLISM BATTLE
“When I have a goatee, it’s lots of pills,” he added.
And by lots of pills, it seems the star was referencing the 55 Vicodin he said he attempted to procure each day as, without them, he’d feel “so sick.”
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This is far from the only gut-wrenching revelation from the actor’s upcoming tell-all, which is set to hit shelves on November 1.
In a previously-published excerpt, the star got candid about how he sought treatment for his addiction struggles while filming Friends. Allegedly costing him roughly $9 million over the course of his addiction, Perry’s journey to sobriety also led to some eerily surreal moments, including being shuttled back to a treatment center after filming his character’s iconic wedding to Courtney Cox’s character, Monica.
“I married Monica and got driven back to the treatment center — at the height of my highest point in Friends, the highest point in my career, the iconic moment on the iconic show — in a pickup truck helmed by a sober technician,” the actor remembered in another excerpt published in the New York Times earlier this week.
Page Six previously reported on the latest expert from Perry’s book.
