Matthew Perry Revealed Before His Death Why He Never Watched Friends

Matthew Perry spoke about the heartbreaking reason he didn’t watch last year Friends.

The actor — who died aged 54 on Saturday — revealed in a November 2022 interview that he couldn’t watch himself in his breakout role as Chandler Bing on Friends as he “could tell from season to season” what stage he was in in his drug and alcohol addiction.

“I didn’t watch the series and I didn’t watch the series because I could go drink… opiates… drink… cocaine. Like I could tell season by season by how I looked,” Perry said in a November 2022 Q interview with Tom Power.

“And I don’t think anyone else can, but I certainly could. And that’s why I don’t want to watch it because that’s what I see, that’s what I noticed when I watched it.”

Matthew Perry dead at 54 after apparent drowning

Despite recalling his difficult personal journey, Perry then added that he was thinking about rewatching the show because of the “amazing” experience of filming the hit ’90s sitcom in which he starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Davida Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow.

“But I think I’m going to start watching it because, first of all, it’s been an amazing ride,” Perry continued. “But it was amazing to watch him touch the hearts of different generations. It became such an important, meaningful thing and I would, you know, watch it again. It was very funny and all the people were nice. And I was too worried about this.”

Perry played Chandler Bing on ‘Friends’ from 1994 to 2004.

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Perry was found dead in a home in Los Angeles on Saturday. TMZ reported that the actor was found in a jacuzzi at the residence and, according to their sources, 911 were called to the residence for cardiac arrest. No drugs were found at the scene, nor were any misdemeanors reported, according to the office.

On Saturday, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson told PEOPLE that officers responded to a call at Perry’s address regarding the death of a man in his 50s. The authorities did not want to confirm the identity of the deceased.

After his death, Warner Bros. released a statement about the beloved actor: “We are devastated by the passing of our dear friend Matthew Perry. Matthew was an incredibly gifted actor and an indelible part of the Warner Bros. family. Television Group. The impact of his comedic genius was felt around the world, and his legacy will live on in the hearts of many. This is a heartbreaking day and we send our love to his family, his loved ones and all his devoted fans.”

Before his death, Perry opened up to PEOPLE about his years-long struggle with drug and alcohol addiction ahead of the release of his memoir in 2022. Friends, lovers and the big scary thingin which he also detailed his battle with addiction.

Shannen Doherty reflects on ‘lifelong’ friendship with Matthew Perry amid ‘shock’ of his death

The actor was struck by how his addiction made him look on the show.

Newsmakers/Getty

The Friends star shared that he became addicted to opioids after an accident in 1997.

“I hadn’t taken a pill before,” Perry told PEOPLE last October. “That first excitement was euphoria. And then I shouldn’t have been drinking, which made you sweat and smell of alcohol. In the end, that’s how my friends knew I was doing something else because I stopped drinking.”

The actor explained that his addictions began to come to the surface when, at the age of 24, he got the role of Chandler in the famous series.

“I could handle it, sort of,” he said. “But when I was 34, I was really in deep trouble.” Perry added that at one point during his opioid addiction he took “55 [Vicodin] per day” and that his weight dropped to 128 lbs.

“I didn’t know how to stop,” he said. “Disease and addiction are progressive, so they get worse and worse as you get older.”

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Perry died on Saturday at the age of 54.

Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic

Perry also shared that his Friends colleagues rallied around him as he struggled with addiction while filming the series. “They were understanding and patient,” he said. “You could say that [doing the show] saved me.”

As he discussed who was at the beginning Friendsthe actor described himself as “desperate” to be a star and spoke of how it took him a decade to rethink his approach.

“He was just a guy who was desperate for fame, thinking it would fix everything. Just ‘on’ all the time,” he said, adding: “It wasn’t until my mid-30s that I realized I didn’t have to do it because that’s what people probably boring I was 24 when I got it [the role]and the disease was just beginning then.” Perry, who famously earned a million dollars a week Friendselsewhere he said he would trade his fame and fortune “to not have this disease.”

“But I’m not discounting how much fun the experience was Friends. And the money was incredible. Just the creative experience of being on the show probably saved my life,” Perry said. “When you’re making a million dollars a week, you can’t have a 37th drink. You have to go home and sleep.”

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