When we think about Matthew Perry, the first thing that comes to mind is the iconic television sitcom ‘Friends’, the actor played the role of Chandler Bing and he was funny, relatable, and memorable in it. Matthew Perry passed away recently in his home in Los Angeles recently. Social media started flooding with pictures of him from his ‘Friends’ days. Sure, he was phenomenal as ‘Chandler’ and most of us will remember him so, but he was much more than that.
View this post on Instagram
Matthew Perry battled with addiction from the early days of ‘Friends’. His struggle with substance abuse and sobriety continued for several years. There was a continuous cycle of recovery and relapse, of going to rehab and again falling into the powerful grasp of addictive substances. However, he had been very vocal about his struggles with addiction, inspiring countless people’s journey of recovery.
He understood that substance abuse can ruin a person’s life and break families apart. So he decided to help those battling addiction and wished to get sober. He strongly advocated against addiction, spoke about his journey and experiences publicly and at length, turned his Malibu home into a sober living facility named Perry House which offers a supportive environment for people looking to overcome addiction.
In an interview last year, Matthew Perry opened up about wanting to be remembered a certain way after his death. He said that he knew how people would only remember him as ‘Chandler Bing’, but he doesn’t want his work in the entertainment industry to be the only thing he is remembered by, reported NDTV.
Instead, he wants people to remember how he helped and supported those who struggled with addiction, how he advocated against addiction and how he contributed meaningfully to the lives of other people.
“I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker. And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That’s what I want,” he had said.
View this post on Instagram
“The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say ‘yes’ and follow up and do it. When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that,” he added.
He ended by saying:
“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. 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 won’t happen but it would be nice.”
Let’s remember Matthew Perry as the person who changed lives and held the hands of those who needed help the most. 🙂