- Matthew Perry opened up about his journey with substance abuse in a new interview with Diane Sawyer.
- He told Sawyer Friday that he spent half his life in treatment or in sober-living homes.
Matthew Perry opened up about overcoming his addiction to drugs and alcohol — a journey that included thousands of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and more than a dozen surgeries — in a new interview Friday.
The "Friends" star $4 about his upcoming memoir, "$4," which is set for release on November 1.
Sawyer detailed the actor's recovery, noting that Perry has been to 6,000 AA meetings, went to rehab at least 15 times, detoxed 65 times, and spent half of his life in treatment or in sober-living homes. The actor also went to therapy for 30 years and underwent 14 surgeries.
Perry said he included the stunning details in his book to help others who may be facing similar circumstances.
"For some reason — it's obviously because I was on 'Friends' — more people will listen to me," he told Sawyer. "So I've got to take advantage of that. I've got to help as many people as I can."
While he was working on the hit NBC sitcom in 2001, Perry was also filming the romantic comedy "Serving Sara" with Elizabeth Hurley. The actor told Sawyer that he consumed Xanax, Methadone, and a quart of vodka each day, and revealed that he had to dub over his own original dialogue in the movie because his speech was slurred.
"It was shot in Dallas and I was doing 'Friends' at the same time, so it doubled my workload. And I was flying on a private jet drinking vodka out of a water bottle," he said.
Perry also became emotional while watching a clip of himself on "Friends" during the interview. He said he could see his addiction reflected in his weight fluctuation through the show.
"I weighed 155 pounds, on my way to 128 pounds. I feel too sorry for that guy, he's going through too much, and it's me. And I remember that, and I didn't understand what was going on," he said. "But again, I'm sorry, and I'm so grateful to not be that anymore."