Friend of Matthew Perry reveals late star felt he "wasn't enough", says he wanted fame to "fill that hole"

Three years after the Friends icon's death, Netflix has released a three-part docuseries titled The One About Matthew Perry, which looks back at the Emmy Award-nominated actor's life, career, fame and struggle with addiction. Perry gained fame as Chandler Bing in NBC's beloved sitcom Friends, which ran for ten seasons, from 1994 to 2004, and continues to hold an ironclad grip on pop culture.

The Friends fandom came to a standstill with Matthew Perry's untimely death on October 28, 2023. The latest Netflix docuseries features archival footage of the late actor and interviews with his family and friends, including his sister Mia Perry Bowick. The Friends' main cast, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, do not appear in the docuseries.

The One About Matthew Perry features many revelations about the late actor's early days on the Friends set and his struggle with addiction in his final days. However, a heartbreaking statement from Perry's friend, Marjorie Harris Newman, reveals the actor's complicated relationship with alcohol.

According to Page Six, Part 1 of the docuseries features a scene where Newman speculates on Perry's addiction to alcohol:

"[Alcohol reached] that very deep part of himself that always thought he was not enough...He felt that becoming famous would fill that hole."

The One About Matthew Perry: The Friends' star opens up about his addiction and fame

Matthew Perry made a surprising revelation in archival footage featured in the docuseries: that he first drank alcohol at the age of 14. The actor described his first brush with alcohol, saying he 'was in heaven' in the footage. While Perry's friends were initially unaware of the actor's drinking, Newman eventually speculated that alcohol was likely a coping mechanism for Perry's insecurities.

In the recordings, Perry admitted that while he felt immense joy when he first achieved stardom, the feeling faded within six months. He noted that he was plagued by core negative thoughts.

Another incident explores how Perry's introduction to painkillers came after a jet ski accident on the set of his 1997 rom-com Fools Rush In. The docu-series features an appearance by Doug Draizin, the producer on Fools Rush In, who recalled that the late actor hurt himself after getting permission to get on a jet ski. In another archival clip, Matthew Perry recalls feeling 'incredible euphoria' from the painkillers:

“So why wouldn’t I take more? And I started to feel sick when I wasn’t taking them.”

Matthew Perry struggled with substance use in the latter seasons of Friends

Another revelation in the docuseries revolves around Matthew Perry's struggle with substance use while filming Friends. Mia Perry Bowick revealed that the late actor was admitted to rehab right before the sitcom started filming for Season 4. While former NBC executive Warren Littlefield believed the late actor would heal after his time in rehab, Perry's struggle with addiction continued while the cast filmed Seasons 5, 6 and 7 of Friends.

Bowick opened up about her late brother's struggles on the Friends set:

"Around Season 5, 6 and 7, we were starting to hear that he was having a very hard time managing his substance use while also filming Friends...He would take just enough to make him feel OK but not enough to appear high — which was tricky. He’d need to manage his withdrawal symptoms, tremors and stuff."

Former Friends writer Jeff Strauss also touched upon the actor's struggle with substance addiction on the set, recalling that there were rumours about how Perry had become challenging.

Netflix's The One About Matthew Perry looks back at the actor's legacy as Chandler Bing, who has become one of television's most recognizable and beloved characters, and his real-life struggle with addiction. In December 2023, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner issued a statement revealing Perry's death occurred due to the acute effects of ketamine, buprenorphine, drowning, and coronary artery disease.

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The three-part docuseries is streaming on Netflix.

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