Matthew Perry describes watching ‘painfully thin’ version of himself on Friends as ‘very hard’

Clip was from season three of the hit sitcom, which aired in 1997

Matthew Perry had an emotional reaction to re-watching himself looking “painfully thin” in a scene from Friends.

Perry, who played fan-favourite character Chandler Bing on the hit NBC show, sat down with ABC’s Diane Sawyer on Friday (28 October) to discuss his new memoir, titled Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.

In the book, Perry opens up about how he struggled with addiction to alcohol and painkillers over the course of his career.

During his conversation with Sawyer, the talk show host asked Perry if they could rewatch a clip from season three of the sitcom – released in 1997 – in which the actor looked “painfully thin”.

In 1997, Perry became addicted to Vicodin after suffering a jet ski accident.

During the scene from the season finale, Chandler pokes fun at Rachel’s (Jennifer Aniston) extra-large hat as they’re preparing to leave for a weekend beach getaway.

The 53-year-old Hollywood star watched the scene with a solemn expression, before saying: “It’s very hard to watch that because in this weird way, I feel sorry for that guy. Because that’s a guy that’s out of control. I didn’t know what was going on with me.

“I weighed a 155lbs, on my way to a 128lbs. 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 and I’m so grateful to not be that anymore.

“But it’s hard to watch that,” Perry added.

During his conversation with Sawyer, Perry also revealed that he used to steal prescription drugs from open houses during the worst periods of his addiction.