Matthew Perry's Family Claim Tragic Actor Was 'Struggling' With Sobriety and Felt 'Pressure' Ahead of 2021 'Friends' Reunion Special
Matthew Perry was in a vulnerable state during the filming of a 'Friends' special, according to family.
Oct. 27 2026, Published 7:15 p.m. ET
Matthew Perry was "fighting for his life" during the filming of the 2021 Friends' reunion special, according to the late actor's family.
Breaking Celebrity News can reveal Perry's sister, Mia Perry Bowick, and his close pal Kevin Pollak opened up about his well-being before the celebratory show in the new Netflix documentary, The One About Matthew Perry.
'His Health Was So Bad'
Matthew Perry died in 2023.
The reunion was Perry’s last TV appearance before he died in 2023.
His loved ones explained just how difficult it was for the star to take part in the HBO Max special.
"It's tough to watch, because he's just not himself," Pollak said, revealing Perry was "struggling with sobriety" and feeling "a lot of pressure" at the time.
Bowick further explained, "Because his health was so bad, he hadn't really been out in public since 2018."
Perry Was 'Nervous About Reuniting With Co-Stars'
Perry felt 'relieved' when the show wrapped filming.
Pollak added that Perry was "very nervous about coming back out" to take part alongside co-stars Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.
He said Perry "wanted to be like, 'I'm here. I'm good, everything’s fine,'" but that was "only sort of half-true."
Following filming, the actor felt "relieved" but "tired," his sister recalled.
She admitted that he remained frightened about his future, adding that part of him "did not think it was possible to live a sober life."
Jeff Strauss, a former Friends' writer and producer, added: "In the reunion, I think Matthew… knew he couldn't get to the place that everybody would want him to be…I think he was really aware of that."
Perry's 'Energy' Severely 'Diminished' After 2018 Health Scare
The actor's colon burst from opioid overuse.
In the Netflix documentary, Bowick noted that her brother's "energy and life force" were "diminished" following his 2018 near-death experience when his colon burst from opioid overuse.
The actor detailed the terrifying ordeal, in which he spent two weeks in a coma, five months in the hospital, and had to use a colostomy bag for nine months to treat the health crisis, in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers and The Big Terrible Thing.
Doctors told Bowick that Perry’s colon had ruptured in several places, causing "intense sepsis" throughout his entire body, according to the docuseries.
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Perry had multiple surgeries to repair his colon.
The Friends star had multiple surgeries to repair his colon, and according to his sister, "at one point the decision was made to put him on an ECMO machine, which is basically like an iron lung."
"His fingertips were turning black. There was a possibility that he would lose his fingers," she added.
Bowick said it felt like a "slap in the face" to learn the cause of Perry’s health scare, explaining: "Opioids can slow down your digestive tract dramatically.
"There’s so much grief family members and friends have to sit with when their loved ones are struggling with substance abuse."
At the time, she admitted she was "angry at him" and thought, "You did this to yourself, man…That was really really really hard."
Perry died aged 54 on October 28, 2023, due to the "acute effects of ketamine" and accidental drowning.
