Hank Azaria Shares How 'Brother' Matthew Perry Helped Him Get Sober
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In the wake of Matthew Perry's death at age 54, fellow celebrities and longtime friends have taken to social media to share the impact the Friends actor had on their lives—and among them is Hank Azaria.
The actor-comedian, who is best known for voicing a slew of characters on The Simpsons, posted a video of himself recalling how they met and formed a decades-long friendship. Azaria also revealed he has Perry to thank for his sobriety today.
"Matthew was the first friend I made in Los Angeles... We were really more like brothers for a long time," Azaria shared, noting he was 21 and Perry was 16 when they met. "We drank a lot together. We laughed a lot together. We were there for each other during the early days of our career."
As funny as Perry was as Chandler Bing in Friends, Azaria said that "in person, he was just the funniest man ever."
"He just lived to laugh," he recalled. "Most nights spent with Matthew, we were crying laughing by the end."
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Azaria went on to express his love for Perry while acknowledging his struggle with alcohol and substance abuse.
"A lot of us who were close to him felt like we lost him to drugs and alcohol a long time ago because, as he documented in his autobiography, there was so much suffering," he explained.
Azaria shared that as he read Perry's book, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, he "had to pick up and put down that autobiography like 11 times" because it was so painful for him.
Related: Matthew Perry Fans Recall Actor’s Wish to be Remembered for Helping Others Over ‘Friends’
Additionally, Azaria noted he's been sober for 17 years—a feat, thanks in part, to Perry.
"The night I went into AA, Matthew brought me in. The whole first year I was sober, we went to meetings together," he explained. "As a sober person, he was so caring and giving and wise, and he totally helped me get sober. And I really wish he could have found within himself to stay with the sober life more consistently."
Azaria concluded: "It's one of the terrible things about this disease is it just takes away the person you love. And, you know, professionally as an actor, he was so brilliant. I just wish I and the world could have gotten that, like what the rest of his career would have been."
Next: Matthew Perry Dead: Mira Sorvino, George Takei and More Celebrities Pay Tribute
