'Did Friends save my life again?': Matthew Perry's brush with death on set of 'Don't Look Up'

Matthew Perry's Life-Threatening Ordeal During 'Don't Look Up'

Everyone remembers Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, the quick-witted, sarcasm-driven character from 'Friends'. But behind his lauded TV success hid a painful battle with addiction and a near-fatal health scare, causing him to step back from a high-profile role in Adam McKay's 'Don't Look Up' opposite Meryl Streep, as reported by Rolling Stone in October 2022.

A Role of a Lifetime Cut Short

Securing a part in 'Don't Look Up' was to be the "biggest movie I'd gotten ever," Perry wrote in his memoir, 'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing'. However, Perry's addiction to alcohol and opioids, which he traced back to his early teens, had a catastrophic impact on his participation in the film. His health took a severe turn, causing his heart to stop for five minutes, resulting in him pulling out of the movie.

Adam McKay loved Perry's spontaneous pitch, which ended up being included in a group scene. Yet Perry wrote that he was on a heavy dose of hydrocodone while filming that scene, underscoring the grim reality of his addiction. The actor further estimated that he had spent a whopping $9 million on rehab and sobriety efforts throughout his life.

'Friends' Saving His Life... Again?

Perry's health crisis occurred during a stint at a luxury rehab facility in Switzerland. The night before surgery to implant a medical device in his back, Perry consumed a large quantity of hydrocodone. A dose of propofol during the operation led to his heart stopping.

"I was told that some beefy Swiss guy really didn’t want the guy from Friends dying on his table and did CPR on me for the full five minutes, beating and pounding my chest," Perry wrote, adding, "If I hadn’t been on Friends, would he have stopped at three minutes? Did Friends save my life again?"

Although the doctors successfully resuscitated Perry, the ordeal resulted in eight broken ribs and a considerable amount of pain, forcing him to withdraw from 'Don't Look Up'. The tragic turn of events, as Perry described it, was "heartbreaking," as he never got to share the screen with Meryl Streep, and his single filmed scene didn't make the final cut.

Matthew Perry's harrowing account serves as a stark reminder of the reality of addiction, the often invisible battles faced by those in the public eye, and the lasting legacy of 'Friends', perhaps saving a life in an unexpected way.

Several parts of the text in this article, including the title, were generated with the help of an AI tool.