The beloved actor, who achieved global superstardom playing the sarcastic and lovable Chandler Bing in the iconic sitcom Friends, tragically passed away in October 2023 at the age of 54. He was found dead after drowning in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home following an acute ketamine overdose. While his final hours shocked the entertainment world, his struggles with substance abuse had long cast a dark shadow over his life, culminating in several near-fatal medical emergencies over the years.
Among the most harrowing chapters of his long battle occurred five years prior to his passing, when Matthew nearly died after his colon burst due to severe opioid overuse. At the time, doctors gave the actor a harrowing two percent chance of surviving the ordeal. During this critical period, Mia served as Matthew’s power of attorney, navigating an unimaginable burden while balancing her own personal life.
Reflecting on that torrid time in the Netflix documentary, Mia recalled the intense psychological and emotional toll placed upon her shoulders. She shared that while she felt honored to make crucial medical choices for her brother, the responsibility was accompanied by overwhelming anxiety and pressure. At the time, she was newly postpartum, hormonal, exhausted, and barely functioning while being away from her young baby.
Mia recalled that doctors were particularly terrified for Matthew’s survival because he was simultaneously enduring severe drug withdrawal while lying in a hospital bed. Speaking candidly about the broader impact of addiction on families, Mia noted the heavy emotional weight loved ones must carry. She explained that family members dealing with a loved one’s substance abuse are forced to sit with immense grief, noting that denial is frequently one of the many layers of that grief—a trap she admitted she fell into often.
Breaking down in tears on camera, Mia described the complex internal conflict of her emotions, admitting to feeling angry at herself for momentarily forgetting reality, and deeply angry at her brother for his self-destructive path. She recalled thinking that he had done it to herself, noting the painful irony that she had just welcomed a baby and he was supposed to step into the role of an uncle. She described the ordeal as incredibly difficult, pointing out that while they had weathered numerous near-misses, overdoses, and car crashes over the years, this was the singular moment when medical professionals genuinely did not know if he would pull through.
Fortunately, Matthew survived the crisis. Mia revealed that when she eventually explained to him the gravity of what had transpired, the actor broke down in tears. Reflecting on how to support someone through such dark moments, Mia shared her philosophy that a loved one’s job is not to try and magically make the difficult feelings go away, but rather to sit beside them and allow them to experience those emotions without having to bear them completely alone.
Tragically, despite surviving that terrifying brush with death, Matthew continued to grapple with addiction right up until his untimely passing in 2023. Looking back on the process of filming and watching the docuseries, Mia shared that she had ultimately learned how to hold gratitude and grief simultaneously, describing that duality as the overarching emotion she felt. Director Mary Robertson praised Mia’s contribution to the project, noting that she was able to give voice to experiences that were uniquely hers while capturing a universal aspect of loving someone through addiction.
Elsewhere in the documentary series, Mia shed light on the staggering and extreme lengths her brother went to in a desperate bid to achieve and maintain sobriety. The 17 Again star reportedly entered rehabilitation facilities 15 separate times and attended an astonishing 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings as he battled lifelong addictions to alcohol, prescription opioids such as Vicodin and OxyContin, and later ketamine.
Psychotherapist Mia reflected on her brother’s internal state, noting that Matthew frequently spoke about an inescapable feeling of emptiness and loneliness that he simply could not fill. She revealed that he spent an estimated $7 million trying to get sober, demonstrating just how seriously he took his disease and how hard he fought against it.
Matthew’s relationship with substances began early in life, starting with beer and cheap wine when he was just 14 years old. By the time he celebrated his 21st birthday, his consumption was already displaying clear signs of being entirely out of control. Not long after landing his breakout role on Friends, he suffered a jet-ski accident that led doctors to prescribe the painkiller Vicodin. While the maximum recommended daily dosage is eight tablets, Matthew’s addiction escalated rapidly; by the end of the third season of the hit sitcom, he was swallowing roughly 55 pills a day.
In 1995, a former girlfriend with whom he remained on friendly terms urged him to seek professional help for his escalating dependencies. This intervention led to his very first stint in rehab. However, even as he walked out of the facility, he privately knew he would drink again, ultimately lasting only nine weeks before relapsing.
The consequences of his addiction grew increasingly severe as the decades progressed. In 2018, his heavy opioid use led to severe pneumonia and the aforementioned burst colon, which resulted in a two-week coma. When he finally regained consciousness, he discovered he had been fitted with a colostomy bag, which he was forced to wear for the next nine months. Yet, even this near-death experience was not enough to permanently break the cycle of his addiction.
Two years after that health scare, Matthew suffered another catastrophic medical emergency when his heart stopped beating for five minutes. While staying at a luxury rehab facility in Switzerland, doctors administered a sedative that dangerously interacted with the opioids already present in his body. Medical personnel successfully resuscitated him, but the chest compressions broke eight ribs in the process, forcing him to withdraw from a high-profile film role alongside Meryl Streep in Don’t Look Up.
Following his tragic death in October 2023, a federal investigation dismantled a network of individuals who took advantage of his vulnerabilities. Ultimately, five people were convicted for their roles in his fatal overdose. Among those sentenced were the actor’s live-in personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa—who admitted to repeatedly injecting Matthew with ketamine on the day he died and was sentenced to over three years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy—alongside his drug dealer Jasveen Sangha, widely referred to in media reports as the "Ketamine Queen," and two licensed physicians.
The One About Matthew Perry is currently available to stream on Netflix. Individuals struggling with substance abuse in the UK can seek confidential support by contacting FRANK on 0300 123 6600, while those in the United States can reach the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
