Diane Sawyer Has Matthew Perry Watch Old ‘Friends’ Clips From When He Was an Addict: ‘Very Hard to Watch’

Matthew Perry got candid about his struggles with addiction while starring in one of the most popular shows on television, Friends.

Perry, who played Chandler Bing in the hit series, sat down with ABC’s Diane Sawyer to discuss his new book Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible which details his struggle with pills and alcohol while on the show.

During the interview, Sawyer played clips from the show for Perry to watch and remember what was going on in his personal life at the time while portraying such a lively character on the screen.

In one clip, a very skinny Perry stands next to his costars, his t-shirt draping over a gaunt body.

“It’s very hard to watch that,” an emotional Perry said. “Because in this weird way I feel — I feel sorry for that guy cause that’s a guy that’s out of control. I didn’t know what was going on with me. I weighed 155 pounds on my way to 128 pounds.”

“But I feel too sorry for that guy. He’s going through too much and it’s me,” he continued. “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.”

In his book, Perry wrote that viewers of Friends can “track the trajectory for my addiction if you gauge my weight from season to season.”

“When I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny, it’s pills. When I have a goatee, it’s lots of pills,” he wrote.

On ABC, Perry recalled the moment his Friends costars, Jennifer Aniston in particular, began to express their own concerns for his wellbeing.

“She says, ‘We know you were drinking,'” Sawyer referenced from the book.

“Yeah. Imagine how scary a moment that was,” he replied. “I said ‘How? I thought I was hiding it so well’ and she said, ‘We can smell it. We can smell it.’ But I wasn’t in a position to stop. You know, and that’s what addiction is. But she was the one that reached out the most. You know, I’m really grateful to her for that.”

Perry eventually began to seek treatment for his addictions during the final few years of the show and was even driven from his rehab facility to set.

Another clip is played, this time showcasing a healthy looking Perry.

“That’s pretty good,” Perry said beaming. “I’ll watch that scene over and over. That was — I looked good — sober. I did well. That’s fun to watch. Thank you.”

Listen above via ABC News.