Matthew Perry Reveals He Used To Go To Open Houses To Steal Pills

Matthew Perry is not holding back.

As you know, the 53-year-old actor has been opening up about his substance abuse issues in his upcoming memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing and recent interviews – revealing it nearly took his life and cost him $9 million on his journey to sobriety. But in a new sit down with Diane Sawyer on Friday, he got incredibly real about the depths of his decade-long struggle with addiction. Matthew shared he needed to take 55 Vicodin pills each day, or he would become “really sick” – forcing him to find creative ways to in order to sustain his addiction:

“I did all sorts of things, I had a bunch of doctors, and fake migraines, and all that stuff. I guess the weirdest thing I did, was on Sundays, I would go to open houses, and go to the bathrooms in these open houses, and see what pills they had in there, and steal them.”

At the time, Matthew noted he most likely did not get caught stealing the drugs because the homeowners potentially thought:

“‘Well, there’s no way that Chandler came in and stole from us.’”

But even at the height of his addiction, Matthew said he forced himself to not drink or take drugs while on the set of Friends.

“I made a rule that I would never drink or take anything at work… I would show up blindly hungover. … I loved Chandler. I loved the show. I also knew, ‘Remember this, because it’s going to be the best time of your life’… I knew I would never forgive myself if I messed this up.”

Still, the Fools Rush In star then said fans could even track which substance he was abusing addiction by watching his weight fluctuate on the show, explaining:

“When I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol. When I’m skinny, it’s pills.”

During the interview, Diane even played a scene from the popular series, where Matthew appeared to be super thin. The moment brought him to tears, expressing:

“That’s very hard to watch. Because in this weird way I feel sorry for that guy. That’s a guy that’s out of control. I didn’t know what was going on with me. I weighed 155, on my way to 128 pounds. I feel sorry for that guy. He’s going through too much. And it’s me. And I remember that. I didn’t understand when that was going on. I’m so grateful to not be that anymore.”

The one scene he remembers being clean for is the season 7 finale when Chandler and Monica get married. Matthew recalled being driven from a treatment center to film them exchanging vows, saying:

“That was pretty good. I’ll watch that scene over and over. I looked good. Sober. That was fun to watch. I mean right there you see Chandler overtaking where I was in my life. Marriage and then kids and I’m not doing any of that stuff.”

When Friends was over, Matthew said he “stayed sober for a long time” before relapsing once again:

“I started to think, ‘I’ve got this. I don’t need to learn anymore. I don’t need to go to meetings.’ … I was able to stay sober unless anything happened, good or bad.”

The 17 Again star even revealed some of the signs that show he fell off the bandwagon, saying:

“If I say, ‘I’m just going to chill at home alone tonight’… If I ever say, ‘I’m cured.’”

Now, Matthew says he is feeling “good” as he is working on a screenplay, gearing up for a book tour, and looking to help others who are also struggling with addiction:

“My health is good. I’m doing really well now. It’s not that hard. I have a lot of experience now. … I’ve got to help as many people as a can… It’s no fun to talk about this stuff. I don’t like talking about it, but I know it’s going to help people to talk about it.”

Nothing but appreciation for Matthew’s continued honestly about his struggles with addiction. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below. You can also take a look at clips from the interview (below):