Elizabeth Hurley Recalls 'Nightmare' of Working with Matthew Perry amid His Addiction

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images; Santiago Felipe/Getty Images Elizabeth Hurley and Matthew Perry

Elizabeth Hurley says working with Matthew Perry on the 2002 movie Serving Sara was a "nightmare" due to his struggles with addiction.

In the wake of his new memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, the actress, 57, reflected on her time spent with the 53-year-old actor, whose substance abuse problems shut down the film set for more than two months.

"I haven't actually read the book yet, but I've read [excerpts] of it. It's quite interesting," Hurley told Yahoo Entertainment. "He's a very funny writer like he's a very funny man. He's an incredibly gifted comedian ... his way with words is fantastic."

Hurley continued, "I have very fond memories of him. To be honest, it was a nightmare working with him at that time and, as it's now known, our movie was shut down because of his addiction. We were in a force majeure and had to all sit at home twiddling our thumbs for some time."

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Moviestore/Shutterstock Elizabeth Hurley and Matthew Perry

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In his book, Perry acknowledges the impact his addictions had on both Hurley and the movie's director, Reginald Hudlin, while filming in Dallas, Texas.

"During Serving Sara … the director was pissed off — I'd ruined his movie; Elizabeth Hurley, my costar, was pissed off (she never got to do another movie, either)," he writes.

In October, Perry confirmed to Diane Sawyer that he had to re-voice everything he'd previously shot on the movie when he finally returned to the set after a spell in rehab.

In the interview, he told the ABC personality that he was consuming Xanax, Methadone and a quart of vodka each day, all of which caused his speech to become slurred.

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Ftm Production/Manadaly/Kobal/Shutterstock Elizabeth Hurley and Matthew Perry

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"It was shot in Dallas and I was doing Friends at the same time, so it doubled my workload. And I was flying on a private jet drinking vodka out of a water bottle," he said.

Despite this, Hurley said Wednesday that Perry "was fabulous" to work with on his return.

"It was tough, obviously he was having a tough time, but he was still very charming and a lovely person to work with," she told Yahoo Entertainment, "but you could see he was suffering for sure."

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.