A new Netflix documentary about Matthew Perry will air this October as his family open up about his struggles before his death.
Matthew spent $7 million in his efforts to get sober, his sister has revealed in a trailer for the deeply personal documentary about the late Friends star.
Netflix has shared a trailer for the three-part series. It’s set to feature family memories, unseen photographs and archive audio.
The documentary explores the actor’s rise to fame, his battle with addiction and repeated attempts to recover before his death aged 54.
Matthew Perry’s sister details his sobriety fight in Netflix documentary
Mia Perry Bowick, a psychotherapist, opens up about her brother’s years-long struggle with substance use in the Netflix trailer.
Mia says: “He spent $7million trying to get sober. That’s how seriously he took his disease.”
Matthew entered rehabilitation 15 times during his recovery efforts. He once said he also attended 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
He battled alcohol, prescription opioids including Vicodin and OxyContin, and later ketamine over many years.
Mia says she needed time before she could share memories of loving Matthew through the complicated parts of his life.
She hopes the documentary will help viewers understand Matthew as more than Chandler Bing and his addiction.
Mia also recalls her brother as funny and loving, including during some of his darkest moments.
Matthew Perry described pain behind Friends fame
The documentary also features archive audio of Matthew reflecting on the incredible success that came with playing Chandler Bing.
While fame initially made him happy, Matthew later realised it had not solved the problems he was facing internally.
He says: “I was extremely happy when I got famous.”
He then recalls: “Then it was like, ‘Uh-oh. This didn’t fix what’s inside me’.”
Matthew also spoke about being warned that continuing to use substances could kill him, despite feeling unable to stop.
According to Mia, her brother described “that feeling of emptiness or loneliness that he couldn’t quite fill”.
Matthew became a household name alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer after landing the role of Chandler on Friends.
The sitcom brought him huge success, but his addiction repeatedly affected his work during its run. He later opened up about the experience in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
His addiction to Vicodin began after he took the painkiller following a jet-ski accident shortly after joining Friends.
His opioid addiction resulted in a burst colon in 2018, after which he spent two weeks in a coma. He subsequently needed a colostomy bag for nine months.
Two years later, Matthew’s heart stopped after a sedative interacted with opioids during treatment in Switzerland. Medical staff managed to resuscitate him, breaking eight ribs in the process.
The ordeal meant he had to pull out of a planned role opposite Meryl Streep in Don’t Look Up.
The One About Matthew Perry arrives on Netflix in October
The three-part documentary has been directed by Mary Robertson and features contributions from Mia, as well as Matthew’s friends David Pressman and Roger Castillo.
Several of Matthew’s former girlfriends also appear in the series, while the Perry family has shared photographs from its private collection.
The One About Matthew Perry is set to arrive on Netflix on October 27, which will mark almost three years since the actor’s death.
Matthew died in 2023 after drowning in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home following a ketamine overdose.
Anyone struggling with alcohol can contact Alcoholics Anonymous on 0800 917 7650 or [email protected].
For confidential drug support, FRANK is available on 0300 123 6600.
The One About Matthew Perry debuts on Netflix on October 27.
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