{"id":11041,"date":"2026-11-02T18:07:45","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T17:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=11041"},"modified":"2026-11-02T18:07:45","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T17:07:45","slug":"the-one-about-matthew-perry-netflix-what-people-misunderstand-about-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/11\/02\/the-one-about-matthew-perry-netflix-what-people-misunderstand-about-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Perry had everything, and that’s exactly what people misunderstand about addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

*Content warning: This article discusses addiction and substance use*<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Before he became known as Chandler Bing from Friends<\/a>, Matthew Perry said a prayer to make a deal with the man upstairs: \u201cGod, you can do anything you want to me. Just please make me famous.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As is shown in the new Netflix<\/a> documentary The One About Matthew Perry, the actor would later make a joke out of this moment – a sort of \u2018be careful what you wish for\u2019 situation. <\/span><\/p>\n

Perry got what he wanted. He found fame, fortune, adoration across the globe, girlfriends, friends and family who loved him – and yet nothing made the addiction disappear. Perry grappled with his recovery right up until October 28, 2023, when he died at age 54<\/a> of the \u201cacute effects\u201d of ketamine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even to this day, I see comments online, accusing Perry of having a victim complex. He had everything a person could ever dream of, why couldn\u2019t he just stop? <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Matthew
Credit: Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve struggled with this misconception ever since I first stepped foot in recovery. I have a job. I have family who love me. I have a roof over my head, food in the fridge. But I can tell you that even the strongest love in the world couldn\u2019t make me put the drink or drugs down. <\/span><\/p>\n

When I was younger, I consistently kept a list in my head of all the things I needed to fix the discomfort I felt within me. But with every passing moment, the discomfort grew – and I became more and more hopeless. <\/span><\/p>\n

I am maladjusted to life. As Perry so perfectly put it, \u201cReality is an acquired taste. I have had a great deal of time, a great deal of problems acquiring it.\u201d Drink and drugs, it felt, fixed those problems – in reality, they were making it worse.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what I wish more people understood about addiction. It isn’t necessarily a reflection of how good or bad someone\u2019s life looks from the outside.<\/span><\/p>\n

Addiction isn’t as simple as choosing to stop<\/h2>\n

Arguably no moment in the Netflix documentary<\/a> summed up this misconception greater than the clip from a 2013 episode of Newsnight<\/a>. Perry went on to support a think tank proposal for expanding drug courts in the UK. <\/span><\/p>\n