By our entertainment editors
Nov 10, 2023 at 10:02 AM Update: 36 minutes ago
Actor Hank Azaria has had a lot of help from Matthew Perry in overcoming his addictions. The actor, who in Friends had a recurring role as scientist David thanks his colleague in a piece in The New York Times.
“We met forty years ago and he was, by far, the funniest friend I ever had,” Azaria wrote. “He was also the one who helped me get sober.”
The actor wrote the piece in response to Perry’s death at the end of October. Perry hoped people would remember him as someone who helped others.
Perry himself had addiction problems for years and took Azaria to his first meeting for people with alcohol addiction in 2005. “I didn’t need to go to rehab, but I knew I had a serious problem. I called Matthew and asked him to take me to a meeting.”
‘I loved Matthew’
Perry played the role of Chandler in the popular series Friends, Azaria appeared for a number of episodes as scientist David, the boyfriend of main character Phoebe. When Perry died last month, he had been sober for several years. He opened a clinic to help people with addiction problems. “I loved Matthew. And he was very helpful to me in the early stages of my sobriety,” Azaria wrote.
Azaria has a message for people who are currently kicking addiction. “You will find your own Matthew Perry. You will find someone you can laugh with and feel connected to,” Azaria writes. “You’ll find someone who cares more about you than themselves. I think Matthew would want people to know that.”
2023-11-10 09:02:36
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