Highlights
- Matthew Perry wanted to be remembered for helping others more than his iconic work on Friends, stating that the best thing about him was being able to help someone struggling with addiction.
- Perry was open and honest about his own struggles with addiction and used his celebrity status to advocate for recovery and help others.
- Despite the worldwide fame he achieved through Friends, Perry hoped that his legacy would be centered around his efforts to assist and support those dealing with addiction.
Matthew Perry was a massively successful star, but the actor wanted to be remembered for something other than his amazing work on Friends and his numerous other projects, work he felt was more important. During his life, Matthew Perry struggled with addictions. Perry even refused to watch Friends reruns in later years, due to his substance use on the show.
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Matthew Perry often opened up about his journey with addiction. The A-lister also discussed how he wouldn't shy away from the opportunity to help another person who was struggling. Matthew Perry also said he wanted to be remembered for helping other people after he passed away, instead of people focusing more on his iconic work on Friends.
The One Thing Matthew Perry Wanted To Be Remembered By More Than 'Friends'
Matthew Perry earned massive success playing Chandler Bing on the beloved sitcom Friends. The entire cast became globally famous, and earned plenty from the hit show.
Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc created a unique bond, becoming friends in real-life. An episode of Friends was even written based on an experience that took place backstage involving the cast.
Less than a year before his tragic passing, Matthew Perry discussed how he wanted to be remembered after he passed away. The End of Longing actor seemed to know that many would remember him for his incredible work on-screen, including Friends, considering it was such a successful show.
The show provided watchers with many memorable and surprisingly unscripted moments, quotable lines, celebrity guest appearances who were both stars and newcomers, and the series even inspired a new hairstyle: "The Rachel".
Less than a year before Matthew Perry's tragic death on October 28th, at age 54, the 17 Again actor spoke about how after he passed away, he wanted to be remembered for helping others more than he wanted to be remembered for any of his on-screen accomplishments.
While promoting his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and The Big Terrible Thing, Perry said on The Q with Tom Power podcast, "The best thing about me, bar none, is if somebody comes up to me and says, 'I can't stop drinking. Can you help me?' I can say yes and follow up and do it. That's the best thing," per ABC News.
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The Go On actor added, "I've said this for a long time. When I die, I don't want Friends to be the first thing that's mentioned. I want (helping people) to be the first thing that's mentioned, and I'm going to live the rest of my life proving that."
Lindsay Posner, who directed the play The End of Longing, which Matthew Perry wrote and starred in, also spoke about how Perry told her how wanted to be remembered for helping others. According to the Herald Scotland, Posnar recalled, "He said to me he would like to be remembered for helping people through the play.... helping people recover."
"(The End of Longing) was an autobiographical play about addiction."
Matthew Perry Wanted To Be Remembered For Helping Others
Knowing the tough battle others were facing, Matthew Perry wanted to do what he could to let others know they weren't alone, and wanted to be remembered for helping other people who also struggled with addiction.
In an X post Matthew Perry wrote, "I've had a lot of ups and downs in my life. I'm still working through it personally, but the best thing about me is that if an alcoholic or drug addict comes up to me and says, 'Will you help me?'"
He continued, "I will always say, 'Yes, I know how to do that. I will do that for you, even if I can't always do it for myself.' So I do that, whenever I can. In groups, or one on one."
Matthew Perry also helped one of his Friends' co-stars with his recovery. Hank Azaria, who appeared on Friends, shared a heartfelt story in a video on Instagram about how Perry helped him recover, along with a tribute to his friend. "I'm a sober guy for 17 years. I want to say that the night I went into AA, Matthew brought me in," Azaria said.
He continued, "The whole first year I was sober, we went to meetings together. As a sober person, he (Perry) was so caring and giving and wise, and he totally helped me get sober," per Time Magazine.
Matthew Perry Was Open And Honest About His Addiction Struggles
Throughout his life, Matthew Perry was more than a successful star who made millions laugh. He was also a beacon of hope for many who could connect with his struggles, and Perry helped whoever reached out to him.
At one point, The Whole Nine Yards actor even founded a home for those struggling with addictions. In 2022, he told Good Morning America, "What's interesting about it is I've stood on a stage helping 100,000 people at the same time, but I get the same juice, I get the same thing, from helping one person," Perry said.
During an interview with Diane Sawyer, Matthew Perry also spoke about how he was able to use his celebrity status to help other people with their recovery. "For some reason, it's obviously because I was on Friends, more people will listen to me."
"So, I've gotta take advantage of that, I've gotta help as many people as I can," he continued, according to ABC News.
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In his online X post, the star wrote that when he passed, he knew many would discuss the show that made him a worldwide star. "When I die, I know people will talk about Friends, Friends, Friends. And I'm glad of that, happy I've done some solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the World Wide Web."
Matthew Perry added that he hoped people would remember what he did for others, before focusing on his iconic performances. "But when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people. I know it wouldn't happen, but it would be nice."
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