Matthew Perry Reveals He Had 'Emergency Surgery' Ahead Of 'Friends' Reunion

Matthew Perry opened up about having an urgent dental surgery days before filming the "Friends" reunion special.

In a chat with tv personality Diane Sawyer, the actor narrated how he was in pain after the surgery, which made him contemplate backing out of filming the reunion.

Not wanting to disappoint fans and colleagues, the actor forced himself to take part, which he said explained his slurry voice at the time.

The actor also discussed his then-struggles with addiction, which brought him very close to dying in 2018. Details about his experiences have been penned in his upcoming book, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Read on to learn more.

Appearing on Friday on ABC's "Nightline," Perry told host Sawyer about having to go to the hospital for an emergency surgery days before he filmed the reunion special of the acclaimed comedy series that threw him into the limelight.

Although the actor did not share details about what had led to the need for the surgery, he did reveal that the procedure was done on his teeth.

"They did all sorts of things," the 53-year-old recalled, adding that his teeth felt like it was on "fire" after the surgery was completed.

The pain, which was very tough to bear, made him feel the actor unsure about joining his colleagues to film the special back in 2021. "It sounded like my voice was off," he told the "Nightline" HOST, per Us Weekly. "[But] I couldn't not show up. So, what I chose to do was just go and do the best that I could."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCQGnVrTsAM

In "Friends," Perry starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer. They played the part of six friends in their 20s and 30s who live in Manhattan, New York City, with details of their lives playing out as the show's narrative.

Perry, in particular, portrayed the character Chandler Bing who was well-loved by fans of the 10-season comedy for his sarcastic sense of humor and carefree attitude.

In hindsight, the actor shared on the special that he felt a lot of pressure to make sure people laughed at his anecdotes.

"I felt like I was gonna die if they didn't laugh. It's not healthy for sure, but I would sometimes say a line, and they wouldn't laugh, and I would sweat and go into convulsions," Perry confessed on the special, per Us.

Despite being loved by many for his role, Perry struggled behind the scenes with alcohol and drug addiction, leading to multiple stays in rehab plus decades of therapy and AA meetings.

In his interview with Sawyer, the actor shared that his addiction became so critical that even his co-stars became aware of it. The producers of the show were also not left out, as they had to "prop" him to look normal in moments when he looked high.

Perry also shared that one of his co-stars, Anniston, confronted him one day on set, describing that it was a scary moment for him. The actor then confirmed that she continued to reach out to him as he tried over and over to kick the habit of taking "55 Vicodin a day," a couple of other drugs, and "a full quart of vodka."

Unsurprisingly, Perry's addiction wreaked havoc on his body, inflicting him with "gastrointestinal perforation" that landed the actor in the ICU in 2018. In his forthcoming memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, which debuts on November 1, the actor shared details of the ordeal, citing that it was almost the end of the road for him.

"The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live," he told People in an exclusive interview earlier in the month. "I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that's called a Hail Mary. No one survives that."

At the time, he ended up spending two weeks in a coma, including five months in the hospital. In addition, he used a colostomy bag for almost a year as he recuperated. 

The actor has now been sober for 18 months.