Former Friends star Matthew Perry has revealed his co-stars once staged an intervention for him on the set of the hit sitcom.
In his recently-released memoir, Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing, Matthew wrote candidly about his struggles with addiction and substance abuse, which has included issues with alcohol and opiates.
Speaking to Elizabeth Vargas on her podcast Heart Of The Matter to promote his book, Matthew recalled one incident when his castmates tried to confront him about his addiction after a particularly “shaky” run-through.
“At one point, everybody was in my dressing room after a run-through that I had been really shaky in,” he explained, before adding: “But that’s not going to work. You need a professional. You need somebody who really knows [addiction].”
He continued: “What people don’t really understand is if there’s an intervention, the only thing you have to do to end an intervention is just say: ‘No. No, get out of my house.’ And then it’s over.
“If you have a professional, somebody who does this for a living, and an interventionist and a plane waiting and then you go to rehab, that’s the way to do it.
“But 50 people saying, ‘You should quit drinking’? [The person will respond], ‘I can’t quit drinking. What are you talking about? And I can’t let you know that I can’t stop drinking because then you’ll try to stop me from drinking’.”
“Penguins, in nature, when one is sick, or when one is very injured, the other penguins surround it and prop it up,” he said.
“They walk around it until that penguin can walk on its own. That’s kind of what the cast did for me.”
In his book, he also singles out Jennifer Aniston, writing: “She was the one that reached out the most. I’m really grateful to her for that.”
Help and support:
- If you need help with a drinking problem, call the Alcoholics Anonymous national helpline for free on 0800 9177 650 or email help@aamail.org.
- For advice on how to reduce drinking, visit Drinkaware’s website or Alcohol Change UK.
- Find alcohol addiction services near you using this NHS tool
- Contact FRANK on 0300 123 6600 or visit the website for alternative contact methods.