What is Sober Technician? How struggling Matthew Perry managed to film iconic 'Friends' scene
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In 2022, a year before his death, the 'Friends' star Matthew Perry opened up about how he filmed the iconic Monica-Chandler wedding scenes of the show with a sober technician.
Perry leaned on the support of a sober technician who specialized in assisting clients with alcoholism, drug addiction, and other disruptive behaviors as he faced his own battle with addiction.
Perry shared the most painful and challenging part of his path to sobriety in his memoir, 'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.'
Matthew Perry, aged 54, who gained fame through the immensely popular sitcom 'Friends,' tragically passed away on October 28. He was discovered dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles residence, with apparent drowning as the cause.
The actor was laid to rest in a private funeral ceremony on November 3 at a Los Angeles cemetery. All five of his 'Friends' co-stars attended the funeral service alongside his family.
Who is sober technician?
A sober technician holds the responsibility to support and monitor clients throughout their program and also ensure a safe and clean physical environment.
They collaborate with counselors and other technicians in a joint effort to implement rehabilitation programs and aid patients on their journey toward sobriety.
Perry reminisced about how a particular technician played a crucial role in enabling the filming of the memorable 'Friends' scene.
He was driven to the set by a technician to shoot the final two episodes of season 7, titled 'The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding' parts 1 and 2.
Despite it being one of the highest-rated episodes in the entire series, Perry was transitioning between rehab facilities during its filming.
He moved from the Promises rehab facility to the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank to shoot the wedding scenes.
"Two weeks later, I was driven to the set of Friends by a technician from Malibu," Perry recalled those days.
"I married Monica and got driven back to the treatment center — at the height of my highest point in Friends, the highest point in my career, the iconic moment on the iconic show — in a pickup truck helmed by a sober technician."
In the wedding episode, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) served as bridesmaids for Monica (Courteney Cox), while Ross (David Schwimmer) acted as Chandler's (Matthew Perry) best man, and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) officiated the wedding.
Jennifer Aniston was mad at Matthew Perry for his absence
Perry also recounted how his co-star Aniston went mad at him when he appeared at the studio after a long absence.
"When I arrived, Jen Aniston said, 'I've been mad at you,'" Perry wrote.
Perry added, "I said, 'Honey, if you knew what I'd been through, you would not be mad at me.'"
The late actor's memoir also reveals how his father, John Perry, issued a warning to the show's creators, expressing his readiness to withdraw Perry from 'Friends' when they inquired about his availability for filming those episodes.
"I was so grateful for him for being my dad and doing the dad thing, but I also didn't want to be the problem," wrote Perry.
"They were just doing their job; they had the number one hit TV show, and two of the main characters were about to get married. I couldn't just disappear. I just wanted everything to be OK," he mentioned in his memoir.
Perry suffered from alcohol and drug addiction throughout his career.
He has been vocal about his addiction days and his journey to sobriety in his memoir
