Matthew Perry‘s life has had many highs, but many more significant lows. After beating his substance abuse problem, he is now working to help others who find themselves in the same position.
Matthew Perry‘s life has changed significantly since winning the role of a lifetime as Chandler Bing on Friends almost two decades ago. The series ran for a decade, and in the end, Perry was making $1 million an episode.
But the actor found himself with a substance abuse problem, and behind the scenes he was struggling. That struggle was often seen in his weight variations on Friends.
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“I had a big problem with alcohol and pills and I couldn’t stop,” Perry told People magazine. “Eventually things got so bad that I couldn’t hide it, and then everybody knew.”
Perry’s career was threatened, and production of his 2002 film Serving Sara even had to be delayed for months due to his problems. But after years of struggling and threatened loss of work, Perry finally won the battle against his addictions.
“Something clicked,” he explained. “You have to want the help.”
Perry has now turned that success into something positive for others struggling with the same disease. He told People he has turned his former Malibu home into a men’s sober living facility. Perry House is an attempt to help the men it houses find the “true happiness” in their lives that the actor feels he has finally found in his own.
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The 43-year-old has also become an advocate in the courts, fighting for nonviolent substance abusers to get the help they need instead of being sent to jail.
Perry’s character on the show Go On was similar to the man he is now. He said he doesn’t feel like he could do what he’s doing now without having gone through so many troubles.
“The interesting reason that I can be so helpful to people now is that I screwed up so often,” he said. “It’s nice for people to see that somebody who once struggled in their life is not struggling anymore.”
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