Matthew Perry’s sister, Mia Perry Bowick, is shedding light on the late actor’s life years after his untimely death at age 54.
The Friends star died October 28, 2023 from a fatal ketamine overdose. After he was found unresponsive in his pool, his death was ruled an accident with contributing factors of drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine.
Perry, who became famous for playing Chandler Bing in the hit Nineties sitcom, is the subject of a new Netflix documentary that is set to tackle his substance abuse.
The actor was vocal about his struggles with addiction during his career in the spotlight. He went to rehab more than a dozen times throughout his life, with some of those stays taking place amid filming Friends.
In a new interview with People published Wednesday, Bowick said that the memory of her late brother filming his iconic wedding scene on the hit series is bittersweet because of what was going on behind the scenes.
Bowick said that when Perry’s character married Courtney Cox’s Monica Geller in season seven of the show, the actor had just gotten out of rehab after his drinking and drug use escalated between seasons five and seven.
“We all knew how serious his disorder was, so there was this sense of, ‘Who knows what’s going to happen?’” she told the magazine. “Watching that wedding, we all knew he wanted that in life. He wanted a partner, he wanted kids.”
Perry similarly wrote in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing that he was receiving treatment for his addiction while filming the wedding episode.
“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 said.
In a trailer for the forthcoming three-part series The One About Matthew Perry, Bowick detailed her brother’s journey with sobriety.
“All great stories have comedy and tragedy in them, and that certainly was Matthew’s story,” she said. “My brother would talk about that feeling of emptiness or loneliness that he couldn’t quite fill.”
Bowick added that Perry spent more than $7 million trying to get sober. “That’s how seriously he took his disease,” she said.
The documentary, which is out October 27 on Netflix, will feature archival footage of Perry, as well as interviews with Perry’s family and friends.
If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, sending an email or visiting their website here.
In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP.
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