'I was in heaven': Matthew Perry says his addiction began at age 14 when he drank 'entire bottle' of wine
MALIBU, CALIFORNIA: Matthew Perry, the 'Friends' star, has detailed his journey of addiction in his upcoming memoir 'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,' due out November 1. Perry recently claimed that drinking an "entire bottle of wine" in his early teens marked the beginning of his addiction. The 53-year-old actor claimed in an interview with Diane Sawyer of ABC News on Friday, October 28 that he "had never drank before" until the event at the age of 14, which had a profound impact on him.
The Massachusetts native, who is promoting 'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,' his new book that describes his struggle with addiction, said, "I lay in the grass and was in heaven. I thought to myself, this must be the way normal people feel all the time." Perry added, "By the time I was 18, I was drinking every day," as per reported by the DailyMail.
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Perry, who portrayed Chandler Bing on the popular NBC show, revealed to Sawyer that he started using prescription painkillers in 1997 as a result of a jet ski accident he had while filming the movie 'Fools Rush In.' "I had to wake up and realize I needed to get 55 [Vicodin pills] or I was going to be really sick. A bunch of doctors, fake migraines," he said. "I guess the weirdest thing I did was on Sundays I would go to open houses and go to the bathrooms in the open house and see what pills they had in there and steal them. "I think they thought, Well, there's no way that Chandler came in and stole from us."
Cast members of NBC's comedy series "Friends." Pictured: David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani. (Photo by Warner Bros. Television)
Sawyer asked Perry in the interview, "How will we know when you're in trouble when you're not okay?" to which Perry said, "If I say, "I'm just going to chill at home alone tonight;" and part two, the other thing, is if I ever say, 'I'm cured.'"
According to Perry, his 30-year struggle with addiction has also required him to have 14 operations, attend 6,000 AA meetings, and spend 15 times in rehab. Although the actor admitted to Sawyer that he battled addiction for years while filming the hit NBC series, he did not utilize drugs or alcohol there. "I made a rule that I would never drink or take anything at work," Perry said. "So I would never do that, but I would show up blindly hungover. Like shaking. I loved Chandler, I loved the show. And I knew, 'Remember this because it's going to be the best time of your life.' And I knew I would never forgive myself if I messed this up."