Matthew Perry appears to have quietly helped people with their addiction problems. One of them is good friend Hank Azaria with whom he played in Friends. “I knew I had a serious problem. I called Matthew and asked him to take me.”
Hank Azaria (59) was friends with Perry for over forty years, who died last month at the age of 54. In The New York Times, Azaria writes a tribute to his friend in which he also makes a personal confession.
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Not only was Perry “by far the funniest friend” Azaria ever had, he also helped him get sober. In 2005, the actor came to the conclusion that he drank too much: “I didn’t have to go to rehab, but I knew I had a serious problem. I called Matthew and asked him to take me to a meeting.”
When Perry died last month, he had already been sober for several years. He opened a clinic to help people with addiction problems. “I loved Matthew and he was very helpful to me in my early sobriety,” Hank wrote.
Azaria has a message for people who are currently kicking addiction. “You’re going to find your own Matthew Perry. You will find someone you can laugh with and feel connected to,” said Hank Azaria. “You will find someone who cares more about you than about themselves. I think Matthew would want people to know that.”
Friends
Azaria is best known as a voice actor on The Simpsons. He also had a modest role in several episodes of Friends as David, Phoebe’s (Lisa Kudrow) boyfriend.
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Tags: Matthew Perry helped Friends colleague drinking problem
