Summary
- Matthew Perry's final interview with Bill Maher revealed his battle with addiction and his determination to overcome it. His honesty and openness resonated with fans.
- Perry's health scare led to a 2% chance of survival, but he defied the odds and made it through. This emotional moment set the tone for the interview.
- Fans reacted positively to the interview, praising Perry's courage and the insight it provided into the struggles he faced behind the scenes. Many expressed sadness at his passing and admiration for his willingness to help others.
Sadly, before he passed away, Matthew Perry was on the road to recovery. Perry's thoughts on fatherhood are that much more heartbreaking following his death. The Friends star will be remembered for his contributions to the show. However, he wanted to be remembered more so for helping out others, especially given his lengthy battle with addiction issues.
In the following, we're going to take a closer look at one of his final interviews alongside Bill Maher. It was an emotional talk between as Maher wasn't sure if he would ever see Perry again. The two enjoyed a great chat and touched on many different topics, including if Perry ever wanted to die during his addiction struggles.
We'll reveal what Perry had to say, along with how the fans felt about the final chat between Maher and Perry on Real Time.
Bill Maher Thought He'd Never See Matthew Perry Again Prior To Their Interview
At the start of the interview, fans can see that Bill Maher is clearly content with the fact that Matthew Perry is on the show. He starts off the interview by saying, "First of all, I'm so glad you are here. Plugging a book because a lot of people had you in the dead pool. Maybe, you." Perry looked on agreeing.
According to Perry, he was given a 2% chance at living following a major health scare. “I was given a 2-percent chance to survive the night,” Perry revealed with Maher.
“They didn’t tell me that, obviously, because I wasn’t really there, but they told my family. And I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine. … They call that a Hail Mary. … Five people were on ECMO that night, and the other four died, and I somehow made it.”
The emotional moment between the two takes place at the start of the interview.
Perry touched on other sensitive topics during the interview, which included talking about addiction on Real Time. Despite his issues and drug use, it was never Perry's intent to die.
Matthew Perry Revealed With Bill Maher That Despite His Drug Use, He Never Wanted To Die
At one point in time, Matthew Perry was taking 55 Vicodins a day. The actor was in a dark place at the time, though it was never his intent to end his own life.
Perry revealed alongside Bill Maher, “I never tried, but I did so many drugs at certain times that I knew that it could kill me … but I never wanted to die. But the real thing for me and the troubles that I’ve had is that reality is an acquired taste."
"That’s what I believe. And I have had a great deal of time and a great deal of problems acquiring it, and it wasn’t until I became really safe, I felt really safe in my sobriety and really strong in my sobriety. And to tell you the truth, I am resilient, and I am strong.”
Perry would go on to admit that his addiction got so bad, that he was actually stealing medication at one point in time.
“If it was an elderly couple, I knew I’d hit it home. And then you look at the dates, you know, and if the dates are old and there’s still a lot of pills, you can take a lot of them. … It’s a horror story, and I’m telling it in kind of a funny way. But as I drove off, I was like, ‘Nobody’s gonna say, Chandler just stole drugs out of my medicine cabinet?’”
Credit to Perry as he admitted to a lot of his personal demons in his new book. He didn't shy away from the sensitive topics alongside Bill Maher either, and fans truly appreciated it.
Fans Reacted Positively To Bill Maher's Final Interview With Matthew Perry
As expected, so many fans took back to this interview following Matthew Perry's passing. Even prior to Perry's passing, fans were praising the actor's interview on Real Time. It gave fans an in-depth look at all the struggles he faced behind the scenes.
One fan writes, "This is my favorite recent interview of Matthew. The spark was back and he had that twinkle in his eye. I’ve just read an interview with Matthew’s pickleball coach, and he said Matthew was in a good place, was happy etc. So it does seem this was a tragic accident. Never met or knew him but feel immense sadness that Matthew is no longer with us. Sleep well Matthew."
Another fan writes, "It’s amazing he is so honest and open about his struggles and road to recovery. God bless this man. He’s going to help so many others!"
Clearly, Perry made a massive impact on fans, especially those facing the same kinds of struggles.
