Matthew Perry's addictions - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

marahnna · 01-29-2020, 07:48 PM

I was reading an article today about Matthew Perry and how he struggled with addiction during the first few seasons of the show, drinking as much as a quart of vodka a day. It just boggled my mind. It's a little scary, too - aside from his dramatic weight loss in Season 2/3, I never noticed anything amiss about him. As a matter of fact, I think seasons 2-5 were probably the best of the show. Chandler has always been my favorite character, and Perry seemed so spot-on with his timing and delivery. It never would have occurred to me that inwardly, he was fighting for his life. I suppose there were probably a number of unused takes that displayed the chinks in his armor, but I'm amazed he was able to pull it off at all, given that he admits he doesn't remember three seasons of the show. I'm glad he's in recovery now and is open about sharing his struggles. Are there any moments/scenes/episodes anyone has witnessed that might indicate that he was struggling?

TSMIV · 01-29-2020, 09:09 PM

In the first half of TOW The Propsal, he was super skinny. When they came back to film the second half (season premiere), he had packed on the pounds because he had spent that summer in rehab. Chandler was probably my fave, too and Matthew's comic timing was spot on in spite of his problems.

marahnna · 01-29-2020, 09:32 PM

I believe it was actually the opposite - in season 6 he'd gotten a bit chubby, but when they picked up in season 7, he'd lost a significant amount of weight.

01-29-2020, 07:48 PM	#1
marahnna Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 04, 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Posts: 54	Matthew Perry's addictions I was reading an article today about Matthew Perry and how he struggled with addiction during the first few seasons of the show, drinking as much as a quart of vodka a day. It just boggled my mind. It's a little scary, too - aside from his dramatic weight loss in Season 2/3, I never noticed anything amiss about him. As a matter of fact, I think seasons 2-5 were probably the best of the show. Chandler has always been my favorite character, and Perry seemed so spot-on with his timing and delivery. It never would have occurred to me that inwardly, he was fighting for his life. I suppose there were probably a number of unused takes that displayed the chinks in his armor, but I'm amazed he was able to pull it off at all, given that he admits he doesn't remember three seasons of the show. I'm glad he's in recovery now and is open about sharing his struggles. Are there any moments/scenes/episodes anyone has witnessed that might indicate that he was struggling?

01-29-2020, 09:09 PM	#2
TSMIV Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 29, 2018 Location: Arkansas Posts: 696	In the first half of TOW The Propsal, he was super skinny. When they came back to film the second half (season premiere), he had packed on the pounds because he had spent that summer in rehab. Chandler was probably my fave, too and Matthew's comic timing was spot on in spite of his problems.

01-29-2020, 09:32 PM	#3
marahnna Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 04, 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Posts: 54	I believe it was actually the opposite - in season 6 he'd gotten a bit chubby, but when they picked up in season 7, he'd lost a significant amount of weight.