A look at the struggle of Friends star Matthew Perry: 'I was Chandler'

Actor Matthew Perry, who checked into rehabilitation centers 15 times, had spent 9 million dollars to battle his alcohol and drug addiction.

Don't leave your news choices to an algorithm - decide for yourself what you read. Add 12punto to your preferred sources!

A look at the struggle of Friends star Matthew Perry: 'I was Chandler'

Hollywood was shaken by the news of the death of Matthew Perry,who played Chandler Bingfor 10 years on the famous sitcom Friends. The Los Angeles Times reported that law enforcement officials went to the actor's home around 4:00 PM yesterday and found Perry unresponsive in the hot tub at his residence.

As reported byIndependent Türkçe, TMZ, which first broke the news, stated based on law enforcement sources that no drugs were found at the scene and there was no suspicion of foul play. Perry had openly spoken about his struggle with alcoholism and drug addiction.

A NEVER-ENDING BATTLE WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUGS

Matthew Perry had undergone dozens of life-saving surgeries while battling drugs and alcohol. The famous actor had checked into rehabilitation clinics 15 times and spent 9 million dollars to get clean.

According to law enforcement sources, first responders were called to the actor's home in Los Angeles following a report ofcardiac arrest. Perry had detailed his struggle with drug and alcohol addiction in his autobiography, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, published last November.

The American actor narrowly escaped death in 2019 after his colon burst due to excessive opioid use. During the health crisis he experienced at age 49, his loved ones who rushed to his side were told that his chance of survival was only 2 percent .

After remaining in a coma for two weeks, Perry was fitted with a colostomy bag that he had to wear for 9 months upon waking up. Just two years later, he faced death once again at a rehabilitation center in Switzerland.

Doctors managed to bring him back to life, but he broke 8 ribs in the process and had to withdraw from the Oscar-nominated Netflix film Don't Look Up, in which he was set to star alongside Meryl Streep. Perry described this lost opportunity as "heartbreaking."

1 MILLION DOLLARS PER EPISODE

These two near-death experiences were worlds away from the actor's role as the sarcastic, hopelessly romantic Chandler Bing on Friends. This role had made him one of the highest-paid actors in the world, earning him approximately 1 million dollars per episode. However, the price of fame was extremely high for Perry. The actor spent 9 million dollars to recover from his drug and alcohol addiction.

Estimated to have attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings about 6,000 times, Perry also entered rehabilitation 15 times and underwent 12 surgeries to save his life.

CO-STARS HAD WARNED HIM

Insisting that he never arrived on the Friends set under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the actor also admitted that his physical appearance on screen indicated which substance he was using at the time.

While filming the series, which aired between 1994 and 2004, Perry's weight fluctuated between 58 and 102 kilograms. If he was thin, he was using painkillers. When he gained weight, he was drinking. He attended shoots hungover many times. Once, during filming at the show's iconic coffee shop, Central Perk, he passed out on the famous orange couch, and his co-star Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey, had to nudge him awake to deliver his line.