Matthew Perry's remarks in a 2022 interview are resurfacing in light of the actor's death on Oct. 28.
During an interview with Tom Power in November 2022 about his memoir, "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing," the former "Friends" actor was asked how he'd like to be remembered.
"I'd like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker," Perry told the live audience at a theater in Toronto. "And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That's what I want."
In the same interview, Perry said his dreams had shifted from acting to coaching people along their sobriety journeys. Perry set up a mens' sober living facility at his former Malibu home in 2013, per People.
"When I die, I don't want 'Friends' to be the first thing that's mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that's mentioned," he said of his work helping people get sober. "And I'm going to live the rest of my life proving that."
When asked about the soundtrack to his memoir, Perry said he thought of the song "Don't Give Up" by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, adding that he would write that line when signing books.
Perry told Power that he realized "how close (he) came to death" and "how often that happened" while writing his memoir. He told People in another interview, “I’m an extremely grateful guy. I’m grateful to be alive, that’s for sure. And that gives me the possibility to do anything.”
Perry was found unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home at approximately 4 p.m. on Oct. 28, according to authorities. Los Angeles fire officials pronounced him dead upon arriving at the scene.
Based on a preliminary investigation from the robbery homicide division, “no obvious signs of trauma” were found. Authorities said Perry's official cause of death is pending the coroner's investigation.
Both in his memoir and in interviews, Perry has been open about his journey with alcoholism and addiction. In the book, he revealed that he spent upwards of $7 million in an attempt to become sober and had been to rehab at least 15 times.
