By Mark Gray
8:59am PDT, Nov 1, 2023
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He'll forever be known to many as his Chandler Bing character from "Friends," but Matthew Perry always wanted his life to mean more. During a 2022 interview with podcaster Tom Power to promote his memoir, "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing," the actor spoke about helping out those in need by tapping into his own struggles with substance abuse.
Following Matthew's unexpected passing, his words about being there for you have gone viral — even Sharon Osbourne and Kerry Washington shared them on social media.
Click through to read what Matthew wrote, then read on to learn more about the one notable celebrity who said Matthew helped him get sober…
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Matthew Perry once opened up during a podcast interview about how he'd like to be remembered.
"I've had a lot of ups and downs in my life. I'm still working through it personally, but the best thing about me is that if an alcoholic or drug addict comes up to me and says, 'Will you help me?' I will always say, 'Yes, I know how to do that. I will do that for you, even if I can't always do it for myself.' So I do that wherever I can — in groups or one on one," he said. "And I created the Perry House in Malibu, a sober-living facility for men. I also wrote my play, 'The End of Longing,' which is a personal message to the world, an exaggerated form of me as a drunk. I had something important to say to people like me and to people who love people like me."
"When I die, I know people will talk about 'Friends,' 'Friends,' 'Friends' — and I'm glad of that, happy I've done some solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the world wide web," he continued. "But when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if 'Friends' were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people. I know it won't happen, but it would be nice."
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Matthew Perry struggled with substance abuse for years, but he wanted to make that his strength.
"I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker … and his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That's what I want," he said.
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After Matthew Perry died, Hank Azaria opened up about how the "Friends" star helped him get sober.
"Matthew was the first friend I made in Los Angeles when I moved there. I was 21, he was 16," Hank said in a video he shared on Instagram. "Matthew and I became really good friends, and we were really more like brothers for a long time. We drank a lot together, we laughed a lot together, we were there for each other in the early days of our career."
"I really loved him. A lot of us who were close to him felt like we lost him to drugs and alcohol a long time ago because — as he documented in his autobiography — there was so much suffering. I had to pick up and put down that biography like 11 times, it was so painful for me to read," the actor continued. "I'm a sober guy for 17 years, and I wanna say that, the night I went into AA, Matthew brought me in. The whole first year I was sober, we went to meetings together."
"He was so caring and giving and wise. And he totally helped me get sober. And I really wish he could've, you know, found the – found it in himself to stay with the silver life more consistently," Hank said. "But it's heartbreaking, for those of us who loved him and knew him really well, personally. We just missed him. We just missed him. It's one of the terrible things about this disease, is it just takes away the person you love."
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Mathew Perry played pickleball — which helped him with his recovery — in the final hours before he died.
"He thought it was something that could help with his recovery and he was doing an awesome job," Matthew's pickleball coach, Matt Manasse, told People magazine. "He loved it. He came out five times a week, would always talk about it. [He] got so much better, always made everyone laugh. He was competitive, just a genuine, good guy — caring for everybody."
"He had so much that he was doing with his rehab facility and trying to get people clean. He would bring them to teach them pickleball. He was just always trying to help people," the athlete added.
