Matthew Perry Speaks Out About His Addiction

The actor said he considers himself a “pretty private person”, but struggled with his sobriety very publicly given the popularity of Friends.

The video showed Perry meeting with three other clients at the Phoenix House located on the popular boardwalk. “It was very public what was happening to me”, he continued. “You can’t have a drug issue for 30 years of time and expect it to be solved in 28 days”, he states within the opening scenes.

“Getting sober is a really hard thing to do, and I saw hope on the faces of the kids”.

The actor checked into rehab for a prescription pill addiction in 1997 and again in 2001.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Perry admitted that during his lowest moments, he would drink 2 pints of vodka a day and take up to 30 tablets of the painkiller Vicodin.

Matthew Perry with former Friends co-star Matt Le Blanc. “I’ve learned a lot from my failures”.

He said: “Treatment centers are important because they sort of separate the addict from their environment where they were using”.

‘The most important thing is to get outside of your head and help another person, ‘ Perry said.

“Just the fact that I am out there talking about it, just the fact that I used to be on TV, makes people listen a little bit more”.

The actor, famed for playing Chandler Bing for 10 years on the smash hit sitcom, said that the best thing about him is that he could now help another alcoholic to stop drinking.

Perry also lobbied politicians to provide $45 million to finance a rehabilitation program that targets non-violent drug offenders.

“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my life and a lot of wonderful accolades”, he reflected. He now portrays Oscar Madison on a CBS adaptation of The Odd Couple featuring Thomas Lennon as Felix Unger.