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Matthew Perry looked like he was on the verge as he recounted his extreme weight loss on Friends during his battle with drug addiction, saying that he feels ‘sorry’ for the man he watched in the old clip.
In the actor’s memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, he opens up about suffering from substance abuse for several years, including drugs and alcohol.
In a new interview with Diane Sawyer for ABC News, the 53-year-old watched a scene from the season three finale of Friends, when Chandler and the rest of the gang are heading to the beach together for a short getaway.
A slender-looking Chandler mocks the huge hat being worn by Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) – a moment that Matthew watched with a sombre expression on his face.
‘Course It’s very hard to watch that, because in this weird way I feel sorry for that guy, ’cause that’s a guy that’s out of control,’ he told Diane, 76.
‘I didn’t know what was going on with me. I weighed 155lbs on my way to 128lbs.’
Matthew looked deeply uncomfortable watching the clip (Picture: ABC/NBC)
The Chandler star revealed that when he had a goatee on Friends, he was using ‘a lot of pills’ (Picture: Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Becoming choked up, Matthew stressed how ‘sorry’ he feels for the man he used to be.
‘I feel too sorry for that guy, he’s going through too much – and it’s me, and I remember that, and I didn’t understand what was going on,’ he said.
‘But again I’m sorry, and I’m so grateful to not be that anymore… but it’s hard to, it’s hard to watch that.’
The actor spoke candidly about his experiences (Picture: ABC)
In 1997, the year that season three scene was filmed, Matthew was involved in a jet ski accident, which subsequently resulted in his addiction to Vicodin, a prescription painkiller that’s supposed to treat moderate to severe pain.
In his book, Matthew revealed that Friends fans would be able to tell what drugs he was using just by watching the show.
‘You can track the trajectory for my addiction if you gauge my weight from season to season,’ he wrote in an extract obtained by Page Six.
‘When I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny, it’s pills; when I have a goatee, it’s lots of pills.’
Matthew would turn up for Friends filming hungover (Picture: Gary Null/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
At one point, Matthew’s chances of survival descended to just 2% after his colon burst from opioid overuse, he said.
Matthew spent at least $9million (£7.9m) trying to get sober, with his recovery eventually coming following a five-month stint in hospital.
Worried about drugs?
Frank offers confidential advice about drugs and addiction (email [email protected], message 82111 or call 0300 123 6600) or the NHS has information about getting help.
Adfam has local groups for families affected by drugs and alcohol and DrugFam offers phone and email support to people affected by other people’s drug or alcohol misuse.
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The actor watched a clip of himself from 1997.