Matthew Perry’s words of advice in last interview: “People do change”
Matthew Perry’s last interview before his death has resurfaced, in which he gave some advice to those going through addiction.
The actor, who was best known for his role as Chandler Bing in Friends, died yesterday (October 28) aged 54 and was reportedly found unresponsive due to a suspected drowning. Authorities have said no foul play was involved, and no drugs were found at the scene.
Now, a video from that interview has begun re-circulating. It took place in November 2022, around the time Perry released his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, and sees him address the camera as he speaks about his experience with addiction.
“I’ve been asked to give any general life advice, which is kind of funny that I’ve been asked to do that,” Perry said in the clip. “I want people to understand that they’re not alone, that there are other people feeling exactly the way they’re feeling, that their behaviour is not insane, that they have a disease and it’s not their fault.
“There’s a very famous line that people don’t change. I happen to know that people do change and I see that every day. I see people getting better. I see the lights in their eyes come on and they get through the terrible part of addiction and the detox and they’re able to live a normal life as long as they do a certain amount of work every day.”
Perry had been open about his experiences with addiction, which began in 1997 when he became addicted to pain medication after a jetski accident. He later revealed he was not able to re-watch episodes of Friends because it inadvertently gave him a timeline of his addictions. “I was taking 55 Vicodin a day, I weighed 128lbs, I was on Friends getting watched by 30 million people – and that’s why I can’t watch the show, cause I was brutally thin,” he said.
He had previously said he couldn’t remember filming several seasons of the show and had spent over $9million trying to get sober.
Tributes have been paid to Perry from across the entertainment world.
Maggie Wheeler, who played Bing’s on-off girlfriend Janice Hosenstein, wrote on Instagram: “What a loss. The world will miss you Mathew Perry. The joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared.”
While Perry’s on-screen mother, Morgan Fairchild, shared this statement via X/Twitter: “I’m heartbroken about the untimely death of my “son”, Matthew Perry. The loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock. I’m sending love & condolences to his friends & family, especially his dad, John Bennett Perry, who I worked with on Flamingo Road & Falcon Crest.”
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