Matthew Perry openly battled addiction and other health issues while starring on Friends and his costars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer were by his side every step of the way, showing their support both in public and in private.
The six actors appeared on the NBC sitcom for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. Amid his growing popularity while portraying beloved funnyman Chandler Bing, Perry entered rehab twice. In 1997, he sought treatment for an addiction to Vicodin after a jet ski accident. He also suffered from alcohol abuse and was hospitalized in 2000 for pancreatitis. He completed another stint in rehab in 2001.
After getting clean, Perry focused on sharing his story. “I didn’t get sober because I felt like it,” he told The New York Times in 2002. “I got sober because I was worried I was going to die the next day.”
The actor reunited with the cast for a special that premiered on HBO Max in May 2021. In October 2022, weeks ahead of the release of his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry told the New York Times that he’d been in recovery for about 18 months, meaning he was newly sober when the reunion special was filmed in April 2021.
Perry died at age 54 of an accidental overdose in October 2023. The autopsy revealed that his death was caused by “acute effects of ketamine.”
In a joint statement after his death, the remaining Friends cast members said, “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family.”
Scroll through the gallery below to revisit everything the Friends cast has said about Perry’s struggles through the years.
Lisa Kudrow
The actress spoke out in 2002 about how the cast coped with Perry’s battle with addiction and related health problems. “Hard doesn’t even begin to describe it,” she told The New York Times. “When Matthew was sick, it was not fun. We were just hopelessly standing on the sidelines. We were hurting a lot. Matthew is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life. He’s charming and hilarious. Most of our hard laughs came from Matthew.”
She wrote the foreword for Perry’s November 2022 memoir. “It’s a hideous disease, and he has a tough version of it. What’s not changing is his will to keep going, keep fighting and keep living,” she told the Times ahead of the book’s release. “I love Matthew a lot. We’re part of a family. I’m basically ending this with ‘I’ll be there for you’ [the Friends theme song], but it’s true. I’ll always be there for him.”
Matt LeBlanc
LeBlanc divulged in 2002 that he attempted to help his costar when he noticed what was going on, but he was unable to get through to him. “I tried to talk to him,” he explained to People. “There wasn’t a response. It’s such a personal struggle; they need to bottom out on their own.”
Weeks after Perry’s death, LeBlanc released a statement saying his former costar was “finally free.”
“Matthew, it is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life,” he wrote via Instagram. It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never.”
He added, “Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love. And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me.”
Courteney Cox
The Cougar Town alum — who played Perry’s onscreen wife, Monica Geller, on Friends — alluded to his personal struggles in 2015 when she pointed to his “ability to show very raw emotion and make close connections with his audience” as the reason “everyone loves him so much.” She then applauded him for allowing his past to inspire his portrayal as a widower in the short-lived sitcom Go On.
“I loved that Matthew found a way to make his character relatable by showing vulnerability in the personal struggles he was facing,” she told BuzzFeed.
In February 2022, she told the Times of London that Perry has “just struggled for a while,” adding, “I think he’s doing great now.”
David Schwimmer
Schwimmer has stayed relatively mum about Perry’s offscreen issues. However, he was put on the spot during a 2003 TV interview with the cast when asked if it was “hard to see a friend in trouble.” Fans noticed Aniston shaking her head in the American Crime Story alum’s direction before he simply replied, “It was really hard.” Some assumed the actress signaled Schwimmer to keep his response to the personal question vague.
Jennifer Aniston
Aniston has kept her feelings about Perry’s sobriety close to the vest, but shortly before he entered rehab the first time, she described him as “one of the most sensitive people I’ve ever met” in a 1997 Entertainment Weekly profile. “His feelings get hurt,” she elaborated, hinting at her castmate’s precarious relationship with fame, which he would later refer to when discussing his addictions. “He cares what people think. He even bruises easily.”
In a statement following Perry’s death, Aniston made note of his struggles.
“Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you everyday…sometimes I can almost hear you saying ‘could you BE any crazier?'” Aniston wrote via Instagram. “Rest little brother. You always made my day.”
