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While Matthew Perry’s struggles with addiction have been well-reported over the last two decades, the former Friends star made a shocking revelation about his struggles earlier this week when he revealed to People that he almost died in 2018 due to an overdose.
Friends actor Matthew Perry reveals that he almost died in 2018 due to an opioid overdose and was in a two-week-long coma
Publicly acknowledging at the time that he suffered from a gastrointestinal perforation, the actor had actually spent weeks fighting for his life after his colon burst from opioid overuse. He spent two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital and had to use a colostomy bag for nine months.
When he was first admitted to the hospital, “the doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live,” he recalls. “I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.” [via People]
Perry also says that at one point during his Friends career, he was taking 55 Vicodin pills per day and weighed about 128 pounds. He also notes that Season 9, which was filmed at a time that he was sober, resulted in him being nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards.
These days, Perry says he’s determined to use his new lease on life to help others that struggle with addition:
“There were five people put on an ECMO machine that night and the other four died and I survived,” he says. “So the big question is why? Why was I the one? There has to be some kind of reason.”
Perry deciding to open up about his near-death experience a few years ago comes just a few weeks before the release of the upcoming memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, which will be hitting bookshelves on November 1.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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