Matthew Perry especially thanked one of his Friends co-stars for helping him overcome his drug and alcohol addiction.

matthew perry He decided to tell his story. The actor is about to present his autobiographical book Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing (Friends, lovers and that terrible thing) and for that reason, during this week, he gave some interviews in which he advanced some of the most interesting passages in the book. In this context, on Friday she made an important revelation: which cast member of friends helped him deal with his problems with his addictions.

In a preview of Diane Sawyer’s interview, which will be seen in its entirety on October 28 on ABC, Perry said that It was Jennifer Aniston who decided to break the ice and confront him. And she that she did it bluntly. She “said to me: ‘Matthew, we know you’re drinking’.

“Yeah, imagine how terrifying that moment was,” Perry recalled. And he added that not only did he come to offer help, but the actress who played Rachel Green in the series was the one who stayed closest to him in the most difficult times of his struggle to leave alcohol and drugs. “Jennifer was the closest. And I will always be very grateful to her for that.”, expressed the actor.

In another section of the clip, the actor revealed that he took 55 painkillers a day. “I was in a dark room meeting with nothing but drug dealers and all alone,” he told Sawyer of her most successful moment in Hollywood. “That is why it is important for me to tell my story, because I feel that it can help people. Secrets kill people like me,” he explained.

In another interview, given to People magazine, Perry explained why he decided to publish his memoirs now: “I had to wait until I was quite sober, and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction to write it all.” He further revealed that he nearly died at age 49 from a gastrointestinal perforation. As he explained, the actor fought for several weeks for his life after his colon burst from excessive use of opioids. Two weeks in a coma, five months in the hospital, and a colostomy bag that he had to wear for nine months were the result of it all.

“The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance of living. They put me on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for my heart and lungs. (…) Nobody survives that, ”she confessed. “There were five people put on an ECMO machine that night. The other four died and I survived. So the big question is why? Why was I the one? There has to be some kind of reason,” he added.

Regarding how and when his hell with addictions began, the star of friends revealed that it was his 24 years, when he was chosen to be part of the series. “I didn’t know how to stop. If the police had come to my house to tell me ‘if you drink tonight, we’ll take you to jail’, I would have started packing. I couldn’t stop because disease and addiction are progressive. So it gets worse and worse as you get older”, recognized who over the years entered rehabilitation around 15 times.

In his book, in addition to Aniston’s gesture and accompaniment, he also thanks the other cast members of the successful sitcom, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer: “It’s like with penguins. Penguins, in the wild, when you are sick, or when you are very injured, you are surrounded by your peers, who support you. They walk around it until that penguin can walk on its own. That’s pretty much what the cast did for me.”

As for what click made him realize the hell he was living through, he revealed: “My therapist said, ‘The next time you think about taking Oxycontin, think about having a colostomy bag for the rest of your life.’ And a little window opened and I crawled through it and I don’t want Oxycontin anymore,” he recalled.

“I have had 14 surgeries on my stomach so far. That’s a lot of reminders to stay sober. All I have to do is look down,” she assured. Over the years, the actor learned that “everything starts with sobriety” because, without it, it is impossible to build anything ahead. “If you’re sober, you’re going to lose everything you put in front of it, so my sobriety is up there,” he assured. “I am an extremely grateful guy. I’m grateful to be alive, that’s for sure. And that gives me the ability to do anything,” he said.

THE NATION