Matthew Perry nearly lost for words after watching Friends clip of him emaciated because of drugs

Trigger warning: this article discusses descriptions of drug addiction

Matthew Perry has admitted he struggles to watch himself in Friends, after struggling with addiction during filming.

Having appeared in one of the biggest sitcoms of all time, the actor later revealed in his memoir that he started misusing drugs in 1997 - while at the height of his fame.

In his book Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, the 54-year-old recalled how his problems began with a prescription for pain medication. Take a look below:

At the time, Perry had been involved in a jet ski accident and was given Vicodin as part of his treatment – something he would later describe as being like 'warm honey entering his veins'.

He later admitted that if he hadn’t taken the first pill then 'none of the next three decades would have gone the way they did'.

In reality, however, the usage of both drugs and alcohol went on to threaten his life.

Perry sat down with ABC News' Diane Sawyer to promote his book and discuss his experiences, during which she showed him a scene from a 1997 episode of Friends.

In the clip, the group are preparing to head off to the beach and Perry's character, Chandler, makes a joke about being 'taken aboard' Rachel's big hat. Perry covered his mouth as he watched the scene, before admitting to Sawyer it was 'very hard to watch', adding: "In this weird way I feel sorry for that guy, 'cause that's a guy that's out of control."

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He appeared to be lost for words, taking breaks to reflect on the time between speaking.

The now-54-year-old continued: "I didn't know what was going on with me. I weighed 155lbs (11st), on my way to 128lbs (9.14st) ... I feel too sorry for that guy, he's going through too much and it's me. And I remember that, and I didn't understand what was going on, but again, I'm sorry, I'm so grateful to not be that any more... but it's hard to watch that."

Warner Bros.

Though Perry admitted things got 'deep' and 'dark' for him while writing the book, he was determined to keep going because he knew that 'however deep it went for me, and dark it went for me, that will help somebody who got that dark'.

He told Sawyer: "Obviously, because I was on Friends, more people will listen to me. So I've got to take advantage of that, and I've got to help as many people as I can."

Vicodin is an opioid pain medication which can be used for the relief of moderate to moderately severe pain.

If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week.