In A Moving Tribute, Actor Hank Azaria Says Matthew Perry Helped Him "Get Sober"

Simpsons actor Hank Azaria in a moving tribute spoke about his long friendship with Matthew Perry and credited the actor with helping him get sober. 

In a four-minute touching video on Instagram, Mr Azaria recalled, "The night I went into AA, Matthew brought me in. The whole first year I was sober, we went to meetings together... I got to tell him this, 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've found it in himself to stay with the sober life more consistently." 

Further in the video, Mr Azaria recalled the first time he met Matthew Perry. He shared that both were actors on the pilot Morning Maggie. "Matthew was the first friend I made in Los Angeles. When I moved there, I was 21; he was 16," Mr Azaria said.

"Matthew and I became really good friends and we were really more like brothers for a long time," he added. "We drank a lot together, we laughed a lot together, we were there for each other in the early days of our career."

He also shared that Matthew Perry was not just funny on 'Friends', he was just as funny in real life. In the video, Mr Azaria also addressed the actor's long-time struggle with substance abuse. 

"I really loved him. 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 said.

"But it's heartbreaking, for those of us who loved him and knew him really well, personally," he added. "We just missed him. We just missed him. It's one of the terrible things about this disease, is it just takes away the person you love."

"As an actor, he was so brilliant. I just wish we - the world - I and the world - could have gotten what the rest of his career would've been," he concluded. 

Watch the video here:

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Matthew Perry, known for his iconic character Chandler Bing in the superhit sitcom Friends, died at the age of 54 on October 28. The actor was found unresponsive in a hot tub. The first responders found Mr Perry unconscious and were unable to revive him.