Matthew Perry opened up Wednesday about his opioid addiction during a preview for his upcoming book that is slated to hit newsstands on November 1.
Perry — best know for his portrayal as Chandler Bing in the NBC hit show “Friends” — revealed that at the age of 49 he almost died due to a gastrointestinal perforation and spent month months in the hospital, reports People.
According to the doctors, the “Friends” star had a slim chance of living.
“The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live,” said Perry.
“I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.”
Perry was cast in the NBC sitcom at the age of 24, around the time his alcohol addiction started to manifest. About 10 years later, Perry said he was “entrenched in a lot of trouble.”
“I could handle it, kind of. But by the time I was 34, I was really entrenched in a lot of trouble,” recalled Perry.
“But there were years that I was sober during that time. Season 9 was the year that I was sober the whole way through. And guess which season I got nominated for best actor? I was like, ‘That should tell me something.’”
The Post reached out to Perry’s reps for comment.
Perry also revealed that at one point, he was down to 128 pounds and taking nearly 55 Vicodin a day.
“I didn’t know how to stop,” said Perry.
“If the police came over to my house and said, ‘If you drink tonight, we’re going to take you to jail,’ I’d start packing. I couldn’t stop because the disease and the addiction is progressive. So it gets worse and worse as you grow older.”
Despite trying to hide his condition, Perry said that the dramatic changes to his appearance reflected his state of sobriety. He also said that his “Friends” cast mates “were understanding, and they were patient.”
Having been to rehab 15 times, Perry says that he now has the tools to maintain his sobriety.
“I’m pretty healthy now,” joked Perry.
“I’ve got to not go to the gym much more, because I don’t want to only be able to play superheroes. But no, I’m a pretty healthy guy right now.”
Perry says that despite everything, his journey through his addiction has made him stronger.
“What I’m most surprised with is my resilience. The way that I can bounce back from all of this torture and awfulness,” said Perry. “Wanting to tell the story, even though it’s a little scary to tell all your secrets in a book, I didn’t leave anything out. Everything’s in there.”
“Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing” will be available on November 1.