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The following article includes mentions of substance abuse.
“Friends” star Matthew Perry’s death at 54 in 2023 Is one of the most tragic celebrity deaths in recent years, not least because of the actor’s well-publicized struggle with substance use over the years. Perry’s memoir, the aptly titled “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” addressed many of the brightest and darkest periods in the star’s life. Now, the three-part Netflix documentary “The One About Matthew Perry” elaborates on Perry’s tragic true-life story by giving the spotlight to some of the people who knew him the most –- relatives, close friends, former flames, and industry colleagues.
While Perry’s “Friends” co-stars didn’t participate in making “The One About Matthew Perry,” the documentary offers plenty of insight into the star’s life. By bringing additional voices, viewpoints, and emotion to the well-known story, the three episodes of “The One About Matthew Perry” paint a nuanced and sympathetic picture of the star, while never shying away from his faults and issues. It’s clear that everyone involved cared about Perry deeply while still admitting that he had his flaws. As a result, the documentary reveals and confirms several things about him. Here are five of the biggest revelations from Netflix’s “The One About Matthew Perry” documentary series.
There’s a reason Perry was so good at playing Chandler
All six “Friends” stars are just about as perfect in their roles as one could hope for, but because of Chandler Bing’s specific personality and sense of humor, he was the last and most difficult character to cast. Luckily, the show found Matthew Perry, who was not only a natural fit for the role — he actually found that Chandler hit surprisingly close to home.
“The One About Matthew Perry” reveals that Perry felt an instant connection to Chandler’s core trait of using humor to mask an inner melancholy. This translated to his audition, which immediately established Perry as the missing puzzle piece of the show. Warren Littlefield, who worked as a NBC executive at the time, described Perry’s audition, which established him as the show’s final, missing piece in just half a minute. “Oh, yeah, this is it. This is Chandler,” Littlefield described the sentiment during the audition. “He just nailed it.”
Bruce Willis indeed featured on Friends because he lost a bet to Perry
Matthew Perry’s friendship with Bruce Willis is one of the more heartwarming celebrity stories in Hollywood, So is the story of how Willis ended up playing the intimidating Paul Stevens opposite David Schwimmer’s Ross Geller (and even briefly dated Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel Green) on “Friends.”
As the tale goes, Willis’ Emmy-winning “Friends” stint was a direct result of a bet the A-lister made with Perry when they filmed the 2000 movie “The Whole Nine Yards” together. Perry’s bet was that if the movie would be financially successful, Willis would guest star on “Friends” — which is exactly what ended up happening, even though the story sounds a little too good to be true.
Amazingly, “The One About Matthew Perry” confirms that the story is indeed true. None other than “The Whole Nine Yards” director Jonathan Lynn states that the bet very much took place, and that it unfolded precisely like the reports have indicated. As such, Perry’s belief in the movie paid major dividends.
Perry’s relationship with fame changed over time
Matthew Perry loved and wanted fame. In fact, one of the documentary’s major framing devices is a quote revealing that he prayed to become famous, regardless of the cost. Of course, as history shows, he got what he wanted, even though the aforementioned personal cost was steep.
As Warren Littlefield notes on “The One About Matthew Perry,” Perry was the sole member of the six-person main cast who seemed genuinely nonchalant when he struck it big with “Friends,” treating his newfound fame as the natural progression of things while the other five were shocked by their sudden celebrity status. Unfortunately, the novelty wore off fairly quickly.
The documentary shows footage of Perry discussing that being a celebrity wasn’t a catch-all cure for everything bad in the human experience. “I was extremely happy when I got famous. Then, after like six months, I was like, ‘Uh oh,'” Perry says in the documentary. “This didn’t fix what’s inside of me. This didn’t do what I thought it was gonna do.”
Perry’s 2018 near-death experience gave his sister the power of attorney
One of the biggest and most tragic events in Matthew Perry’s life came in 2018, when he was close to death after his colon ruptured due to his opioid use. Perry was comatose for two weeks and was hospitalized for five months, with very little chance of survival at first.
Perry was open about the incident, even discussing it very early on in “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.” He also revealed that the doctors told his family at one point that he had roughly a 2% chance to live.
“The One About Matthew Perry” expands on this, revealing just how far the situation proceeded. In the documentary, Perry’s sister Mia Perry Bowick told that she ended up with Perry’s power of attorney. If the situation wasn’t difficult enough already, it was doubly strange for her because she had just given birth in the very same hospital a few weeks earlier.
How Matthew Perry’s painkiller addiction started
In his memoir, Matthew Perry was open about his issues with alcohol and other substances, revealing that a key moment in his life was a jet ski injury while filming the 1997 movie “Fools Rush In.” While recuperating from this, he got addicted to painkillers.
“The One About Matthew Perry” also references this incident, and adds context from “Fools Rush In” producer Doug Draizin. “Matthew got permission to get on a jet ski and flung himself in the air and hurt himself,” Draizin says. “Who knows what would have happened if that accident didn’t happen?” In all fairness to the production, though, the documentary also notes that Perry had his issues with alcohol before his fame. The actor was acutely aware of his issues, too, and he was genuinely trying to address the problem: According to the documentary, Perry spent around $7 million in attempts to get and stay sober.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration websiteor contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
