Was Matthew Perry religious? 'Friends' star laid to rest after Christian service at Forest Lawn
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry, who was laid to rest at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles following a Christian service on Friday, November 3, found God when he was navigating through the darkest hours of his life.
After Perry’s sudden tragic death on Saturday, October 28, by apparent drowning in his Los Angeles home’s hot tub, his Christian connections are resurfacing.
The 54-year-old star, who was best known for his portrayal of Chandler Bing in the immensely popular NBC sitcom ‘Friends’, repeatedly talked about his connection with God in his past interviews.
The ‘17 Again’ star also wrote in detail about the importance of God in life and how divinity helped him in his darkest hours.
'Friends' star Matthew Perry turned to God after massive health scare
Matthew Perry recounted in his autobiography ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing’ in 2022 that he turned to God in desperation after a massive health scare in 2018.
After years of opioid use, the 'Fools Rush In' star reportedly suffered a burst colon and faced a mere two percent chance of survival.
After enduring 15 stomach surgeries and multiple detoxification attempts, Perry disclosed that he reached a point of desperation and turned to God.
He recalled praying in his darkest hour, "God, please help me, show me that you are here,” per The Christian Post.
His prayers weren’t in vain as he reportedly described feeling the presence of God which led him to uncontrollable tears.
He wrote in his autobiography, "I wasn't crying because I was sad — I was crying because for the first time in my life, I felt OK," before adding, "I felt safe, taken care of."
That was also the time when Perry finally found the presence of divinity as he recalled, "He saved me that day, and for all days, no matter what.”
While previously he struggled with his feelings toward God, this one encounter reportedly changed everything for him. He claimed at the time, "I had been in the presence of God. I was certain of it.”
Matthew Perry once prayed to God to make him famous
Perry’s journey towards divination was reportedly not just one simple road. During his famous interview with Tom Power in 2022, Perry opened up about his struggle with addiction.
He recalled having a problematic relationship with alcohol even before he made a name for himself in Hollywood.
He reportedly said that he pursued a thespian career in an attempt to get over the addiction he was struggling with.
Amidst his pursuit, he also prayed to God to become famous. He said to Tom Power in 2022, “That prayer was, ‘Please, God, make me famous. You can do anything you want to me; just make me famous.’”
He, later, ominously added, “Three weeks later, I got ‘Friends’ — and God did not forget about the second part,” according to CBC.
However, later in life, that prayer no longer held the same profound meaning of seeking closeness to God.
In an interview with ABC News's Diane Sawyer, Perry confessed that his initial prayer to become famous was something he wasn't particularly proud of.
He said, "That was the first time I ever prayed. And I look back at it as a dumb prayer, like a prayer of a really young person.”
In the beginning, he prayed with the belief that fame could lead him out of addiction, but he acknowledged his mistake. He realized that fame exacerbated his struggles, as reported by The Christian Post.
Later in his book, he reflected that his initial prayer paled in comparison to the profound divine encounter he would later experience with God.
He recalled, "This time I had prayed for the right thing: help. God had shown me a sliver of what life could be," before adding, "He saved me that day, and for all days, no matter what. He had turned me into a seeker, not only of sobriety, and truth, but also of him."