'Friends' star Matthew Perry discusses addiction in new memoir
MANILA, Philippines — "Friends" actor Matthew Perry is releasing in November his new memoir, "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing," where he touches on his near-death experience due to opioid use.
The Chandler Bing actor begins the memoir with how he nearly died in 2018 at the age of 49. He was comatosed for two weeks and hospitalized for five months, and even had a colostomy bag for nine months.
"The doctors told my family that I had a 2% chance to live," Perry told People magazine. "I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs."
Perry said it was a "Hail Mary" move and that no one survives it. At the time, the actor acknowledged suffering from a gastrointestinal perforation after his colon burst from opioid overuse.
The actor said that when he was cast for "Friends," he was keeping his alcohol addiction at bay, and was even sober for one season — that same season he was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor-Comedy.
He also admitted to going to rehab 15 times because of relapses, and also having had 14 stomach surgeries. Perry shared that he now has better control of himself. "I've got to not go to the gym much more, because I don't want to only be able to play superheroes. But no, I'm a pretty healthy guy right now."
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