Matthew Perry opened up about one of the more painful experiences he went through battling addiction while on the set of Friends in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, one year prior to his death.
The late actor – who passed away at the age of 54 on October 29 – admitted he should have been on top of the world filming a fan-favorite scene in 2000 where his character, Chandler Bing, marries Monica Geller, played by Courteney Cox,
Instead, Perry was in the midst of being moved from a rehab facility to the Promises treatment center in Malibu, where he was told he would need ‘months’ more to recover.
‘Two weeks later, I was driven to the set of Friends by a technician from Malibu,’ Perry wrote of his arrival for the two-part episode of season 7.
‘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,’ he added.
![Matthew Perry teams up with his 'sober technician' to shoot legendary Friends scene: 'Married Monica and shuttled straight back to the treatment center' 2 Battling: Matthew Perry had opened up about one of the most painful experiences he went through battling addiction while on the set of Friends in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing (pictured 2007)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/04/16/77281671-12698447-Battling_Matthew_Perry_had_opened_up_about_one_of_the_most_painf-a-3_1699116048870.jpg)
Battling: Matthew Perry had opened up about one of the most painful experiences he went through battling addiction while on the set of Friends in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing (pictured 2007)
![Matthew Perry teams up with his 'sober technician' to shoot legendary Friends scene: 'Married Monica and shuttled straight back to the treatment center' 4 Top of the world: The late actor - who passed away at the age of 54 on October 29 - admitted he should have been on top of the world filming a fan-favorite scene in 2000 where his character, Chandler Bing, marries Monica Geller, played by Courteney Cox](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/04/16/77277901-12698447-Top_of_the_world_The_late_actor_who_passed_away_at_the_age_of_54-a-8_1699116049424.jpg)
Top of the world: The late actor – who passed away at the age of 54 on October 29 – admitted he should have been on top of the world filming a fan-favorite scene in 2000 where his character, Chandler Bing, marries Monica Geller, played by Courteney Cox
![Matthew Perry teams up with his 'sober technician' to shoot legendary Friends scene: 'Married Monica and shuttled straight back to the treatment center' 6 Recovery: Instead, Perry was in the midst of being moved from a rehab facility to the Promises treatment center in Malibu, where he was told he would need 'months' more to recover](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/01/17/77277909-12698447-Recovery_Instead_Perry_was_in_the_midst_of_being_moved_from_a_re-a-4_1698860987544.jpg)
Recovery: Instead, Perry was in the midst of being moved from a rehab facility to the Promises treatment center in Malibu, where he was told he would need ‘months’ more to recover
The star also detailed how Jennifer Aniston had approached him when he appeared on the Warner Bros. lot that day following a significant period of absence.
‘When I arrived, Jen Aniston said, “I’ve been mad at you,”‘ he wrote.'”Honey,’ I said, “if you knew what I’d been through, you would not be mad at me.”‘
The wedding unfolds, with Phoebe [Lisa Kudrow] and Rachel [Aniston] serving as bridesmaids and Ross [David Schwimmer] assuming the role of best man.
Meanwhile, Joey [Matt LeBlanc] encounters a delay on the set of his movie, nearly jeopardizing his role as the wedding officiant. Fortunately, he makes it just in time to perform the ceremony.
In his memoir, Perry added that his father, John Bennett Perry, had confronted Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane — threatening to ‘pull (Perry) off your television show’ — when they asked if Perry was ready to come back to film the wedding.
‘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.
‘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,’ Perry explained in the book.
When sharing about his substance abuse and the toll it began to take on his body, The Whole Nine Yards star confessed he was taking as many as 55 Vicodin pills a day, which contributed to his weight dropping to just 128 pounds.
![Matthew Perry teams up with his 'sober technician' to shoot legendary Friends scene: 'Married Monica and shuttled straight back to the treatment center' 8 Arrival: 'Two weeks later, I was driven to the set of Friends by a technician from Malibu,' Perry wrote of his arrival for the two-part episode of season 7.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/04/16/77277907-12698447-Arrival_Two_weeks_later_I_was_driven_to_the_set_of_Friends_by_a_-a-5_1699116049250.jpg)
Arrival: ‘Two weeks later, I was driven to the set of Friends by a technician from Malibu,’ Perry wrote of his arrival for the two-part episode of season 7.
![Matthew Perry teams up with his 'sober technician' to shoot legendary Friends scene: 'Married Monica and shuttled straight back to the treatment center' 10 Highest point: '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,' he added](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/04/16/77277905-12698447-Highest_point_I_married_Monica_and_got_driven_back_to_the_treatm-a-4_1699116049248.jpg)
Highest point: ‘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,’ he added
In 2018, his struggle set off a harrowing medical journey including pneumonia, a ruptured colon, a brief period on life support, a two-week coma, nine months with a colostomy bag, over a dozen stomach surgeries, and the realization that, by the age of 49, he had devoted over half of his life to treatment centers and sober living facilities.
He was given just a two percent chance to live at one point while in the hospital, Perry confessed in the memoir, but in the end he would survive.
Perry went on to reveal that part of his inspiration for writing an open and honest memoir, with all the ups and downs, was the hope that his stories could serve as kind of lifeline for others.
The memoir was published just one year after Perry had a tearful reunion with his Friends co-stars for an HBO special.
After his on-screen wife Cox reminisced, ‘It was an incredible time. We became best friends’, Perry confessed: ‘Yep, I’m going to cry now’.
![Matthew Perry teams up with his 'sober technician' to shoot legendary Friends scene: 'Married Monica and shuttled straight back to the treatment center' 12 True friend: The star also detailed how Jennifer Aniston had approached him when he appeared on the Warner Bros. lot that day following a significant period of absence](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/02/23/77281623-12698447-True_friend_The_star_also_detailed_how_Jennifer_Aniston_had_appr-a-54_1698966327981.jpg)
True friend: The star also detailed how Jennifer Aniston had approached him when he appeared on the Warner Bros. lot that day following a significant period of absence
![Matthew Perry teams up with his 'sober technician' to shoot legendary Friends scene: 'Married Monica and shuttled straight back to the treatment center' 14 Keeping it real: 'When I arrived, Jen Aniston said, "I¿ve been mad at you,"' he wrote.'"Honey,' I said, "if you knew what I¿d been through, you would not be mad at me."'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/02/23/77281817-12698447-Keeping_it_real_When_I_arrived_Jen_Aniston_said_I_ve_been_mad_at-a-59_1698966327991.jpg)
Keeping it real: ‘When I arrived, Jen Aniston said, “I’ve been mad at you,”‘ he wrote.'”Honey,’ I said, “if you knew what I’d been through, you would not be mad at me.”‘
![Matthew Perry teams up with his 'sober technician' to shoot legendary Friends scene: 'Married Monica and shuttled straight back to the treatment center' 16 Concerned parent: Perry added that his father, John Bennett Perry, had confronted Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane ¿ threatening to 'pull (Perry) off your television show' ¿ when they asked if Perry was ready to come back to film the wedding](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/04/16/77281627-12698447-Concerned_parent_Perry_added_that_his_father_John_Bennett_Perry_-a-6_1699116049269.jpg)
Concerned parent: Perry added that his father, John Bennett Perry, had confronted Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane — threatening to ‘pull (Perry) off your television show’ — when they asked if Perry was ready to come back to film the wedding
Dropping his head down and wrapping his arms around his body, Perry held a solemn look as Aniston leaned over to comfort him.
The series ran for 10 seasons, premiering in 1994. The final episode, which aired in 2004, broke records with more than 50 million viewers.
In the reunion, Matthew admitted that before he won the role, he had just $11 to his name as his career had hit rock bottom, having appeared in several short-lived sitcoms.
After landing the show, he said he would have panic attacks about learning his lines amid his battles with mental health and addiction.
He also revealed that his favorite episode was The One Where Everybody Finds Out, which was the one where the gang discovered Chandler and Monica’s relationship with some very amusing scenarios playing out.
![Matthew Perry teams up with his 'sober technician' to shoot legendary Friends scene: 'Married Monica and shuttled straight back to the treatment center' 18 Reunion: The memoir was published just one year after Perry had a tearful reunion with his Friends co-stars for an HBO special](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/04/16/77281789-12698447-Reunion_The_memoir_was_published_just_one_year_after_Perry_had_a-a-7_1699116049270.jpg)
Reunion: The memoir was published just one year after Perry had a tearful reunion with his Friends co-stars for an HBO special
![Matthew Perry teams up with his 'sober technician' to shoot legendary Friends scene: 'Married Monica and shuttled straight back to the treatment center' 20 Longevity: The series ran for 10 seasons, premiering in 1994. The final episode, which aired in 2004, broke records with more than 50 million viewers](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/01/17/77281801-12698447-Longevity_The_series_ran_for_10_seasons_premiering_in_1994_The_f-a-11_1698860987898.jpg)
Longevity: The series ran for 10 seasons, premiering in 1994. The final episode, which aired in 2004, broke records with more than 50 million viewers
![Matthew Perry teams up with his 'sober technician' to shoot legendary Friends scene: 'Married Monica and shuttled straight back to the treatment center' 22 Better days: In the reunion, Matthew admitted that before he won the role, he had just $11 to his name as his career had hit rock bottom, having appeared in several short-lived sitcoms](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/04/16/77281625-12698447-Better_days_In_the_reunion_Matthew_admitted_that_before_he_won_t-a-9_1699116049599.jpg)
Better days: In the reunion, Matthew admitted that before he won the role, he had just $11 to his name as his career had hit rock bottom, having appeared in several short-lived sitcoms
Days ahead of the HBO premiere, Perry had told Good Morning America, ‘Reuniting this cast again – I knew it was gonna be a really seriously emotional experience. And it has been.’
‘I don’t think any of us had any idea how emotional we would be when we walked onto the set,’ Courteney added.
‘Truth is, I didn’t cry walking out onto the set,’ Kudrow, who played Phoebe Buffay, admitted. ‘And now I can’t stop.’
‘Floodgates open,’ Aniston agreed.
Perry died ‘after drowning in his jacuzzi at home,’ sources have told DailyMail.com.
Law enforcement sources said the actor was found on Oct. 29 at a home in Los Angeles after first responders were called to the scene for a cardiac arrest.
Authorities responded to his home around 4pm where he was discovered unresponsive.
A source told DailyMail.com there was no sign of foul play, and that robbery-homicide detectives are investigating his death.