Matthew Perry’s death didn’t come as a shock to Sean Penn.
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The 63-year-old actor gave a candid and emotional interview to Piers Morgan Uncensored on Wednesday night (November 22, 2023), in which he discussed the Friends star’s “tragic” death in October at the age of 54.
“What a talented guy. “I can’t say I knew him well, but I really liked him,” the Mystic River actor shared. I saw him recently. We both flew out of Los Angeles Airport and I complimented him on what I knew from his book. I hadn’t read the book, I had seen some of his interviews and he seemed to talk about (his drug addiction), he faced it, he was very intelligent and brave and he generously offered his experiences to people with the aim of to be useful.”
In addition to battling his own addiction to alcohol and painkillers, Matthew Perry has dedicated much of his life to helping other addicts recover. In recent years, he has had to undergo several surgeries due to the physical damage caused by his addiction.
Sean Penn then explained that he wasn’t “terribly surprised” by the actor’s unfortunate death. “I don’t know what the coroner’s report says, but I know he’s done a lot of damage to his organs over the years,” he said. You know, it’s a difficult situation and he had to do it, he had to put this history behind him and he was able to bring great joy to a lot of people with his talent. So I wish his family the best of luck.”
Sean Penn’s words echo what Matthew Perry wrote in his 2022 memoir “Friends, My Loves, and This Terrible Thing.” “I say in the book that if I died it would shock people, but it wouldn’t surprise anyone,” he told People while promoting his book.