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Topics: Film and TV, Friends
Claire Reid
Topics: Film and TV, Friends
Matthew Perry has revealed that he very nearly missed the Friends reunion show last year after needing to undergo emergency surgery.
Perry played funnyman Chandler Bing for ten years on the hit show and, naturally, was a major part of the Friends: The Reunion show that aired in May last year.
In the special one-off show, hosted by James Corden, we got to catch up with our Friends almost two decades after the series ended.
But Perry almost had to skip the whole thing after he underwent emergency dental surgery that left his mouth feeling 'like fire’ just days before the special was filmed. Ouch.
The surgery also left him struggling to speak, but Perry knew that he had to go along.
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He told ABC's Diane Sawyer: “It sounded like my voice was up... I couldn't not show up. So, what I chose to do was just go and do the best that I could."
Later in the interview, he admitted that watching season three of the show was tough.
“It's very hard to watch that, because in this weird way I feel sorry for that guy, because that's a guy that's out of control," said the star. “I didn't know what was going on with me. I weighed 155lb [70kg] on my way to 128lb [58kg].
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“I feel too sorry for that guy, he's going through too much – and it's me, and I remember that, and I didn't understand what was going on.
“But again, I'm sorry, and I'm so grateful to not be that anymore... but it's hard to, it's hard to watch that."
Perry has spoken candidly about his battle with addiction in his new memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
The actor has said that his addiction began after he suffered an accident on a jet ski and was given Vicodin to help treat the pain; a drug Perry describes as 'like warm honey entering his veins'.
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He admitted that if he hadn't taken that first pill, 'none of the next three decades would have gone the way they did'.
Perry told Sawyer that he’s speaking out about his addictions in the hope he can help others who may also be struggling.
He added: "Obviously, because I was on Friends, more people will listen to me. So I've got to take advantage of that, and I've got to help as many people as I can."
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