Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Matthew Perry Opens Up About Having To Drop Out Of Major Film After His Heart Stopped For Five Minutes

Matthew Perry
Alex B. Huckle/Getty Images

The 'Friends' actor was slated to star opposite Meryl Streep in 'Don't Look Up.

Among the star studded cast brought on for Adam McKay's political satire Don't Look Up, one didn't make it to the final cut. Actor Matthew Perry was initially slated to make an appearance in the movie, but was later forced to pull out after a shocking health scare.

Perry's role was expected to be a Conservative journalist who shared several scenes conducting interviews with actor Meryl Streep's character. Unfortunately, he was left no choice but to leave the movie after his heart stopped during a surgical procedure gone wrong.


The actor details this experience in his upcoming memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing which will come out on November 1.

See a sneak peek below:

In the memoir, Perry elaborates during the filming for Don't Look Up he checked into a Swiss luxury rehab clinic.

While there, Perry enjoyed amenities like his own private butler and an overlook of Lake Geneva. However, things eventually went sour when his drug cravings started to kick in.

The actor admits he began to mislead his physicians into thinking he was experiencing crippling pain.

"In fact I was okay. It still felt like I was doing a constant sit up so it was very uncomfortable, but it wasn't pain."

Doctors began prescribing Perry hydrocodone in the hopes it would reduce his suffering. However, when that didn't work the medical staff opted to try a surgical intervention instead.

Leading to his operation, Perry claims he stayed up all night taking hydrocodone. The following morning he was administered Propofol—an anesthetic agent that places patients under sedation.

With the hydrocodone still in his system the addition of Propofol effectively stopped his heart.

"I was given the shot at 11 a.m. I woke up 11 hours later in a different hospital. Apparently, the Propofol had stopped my heart. For five minutes. It wasn't a heart attack—I didn't flatline—but nothing had been beating."

Doctors rushed to Perry's assistance with one dedicated surgeon who gave him chest compressions for five minutes straight.

"I was told some beefy Swiss guy really didn't want the guy from Friends dying on his table and did CPR on me for the full five minutes, beating and pounding my chest."
"If I hadn't been on Friends would he have stopped at three minutes? Did Friends save my life again?"
"He may have saved my life, but he broke eight of my ribs."

Social media shared support for the star.









Luckily, Perry has since gotten the help he needs and is 18 months sober.

He now looks to rebound from his addiction after spending a total of nine million dollars on his sobriety.

If you or someone you know suffers from addiction, help is available. Contact the American Addiction Centers hotline at 888-744-0069.

More from Entertainment/tv-and-movies

Ashley Tisdale
@ashleytisdale/TikTok; Disney

Ashley Tisdale Hilariously Reveals How Her 'High School Musical'-Obsessed Toddler Lets People Know She's Sharpay's Daughter

For many Millennials and Gen Z'ers, the High School Musical films were appointment viewing, and the character of Sharpay played by Ashley Tisdale was one of the franchise's icons.

She was kind of the Cher Horowitz-meets-Regina George of her day, and with Tisdale's roster of other Disney hits like The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Phineas and Ferb, she's basically Disney royalty.

Keep ReadingShow less
Seven-time Grammy winner and entertainer, Toni Braxton
Christopher Polk/Variety/Getty Images

Toni Braxton's Controversial Graduation Look

Toni Braxton celebrated her son’s graduation from Howard University in a risqué outfit that made fans and fashion critics blush.

The Grammy-winning R&B singer posted a video of her son, 22-year-old Diezel Ky Braxton-Lewis, as he emotionally received his degree in film from the HBCU’s prestigious Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts.

Keep ReadingShow less
Zendaya at the 2025 Met Gala; Law Roach with Entertainment Tonight; Anna Sawai at the 2025 Met Gala
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images; @entertainmenttonight/TikTok; Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Stylist Reveals Zendaya's Sweet Gesture After She And 'Shogun' Star Accidentally Wore Matching Met Gala Looks

Every year, the Met Gala asks their guests to dress to a particular theme. For 2025, the theme was "Tailored for You," which inspired entertainers to show up in looks that best modeled their figures or in some way emulated their greatest inspiration.

Zendaya showed up in an eye-catching white suit with a fitted jacket, vest, and embellished, crystal buttons, and well-tailored pants. To top it all off, she wore a fabulous, floppy white hat. She was styled by Law Roach, her suit was designed by Louis Vuitton, and her inspiration was Diana Ross and Bianca Jagger.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hasan Piker
Gerardo Mora/Getty Images for Real Good Touring

Liberal Commentator Alarmingly Grilled By Customs Over His Views On Trump While Returning From France

Hasan Piker—progressive political commentator, YouTuber, and Twitch streamer—revealed he was detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents for almost two hours at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Sunday as he returned to the United States from France.

Piker—a U.S. citizen born to Turkish parents in New Brunswick, New Jersey—said the CBP agents' goal was to intimidate him as they questioned him about his opinions on MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, Houthi rebels, Hamas, his bans from Twitch, and Israel. Piker has routinely spoken about the genocide in Gaza, advocated for Palestinian rights, and criticized the Israeli government.

Keep ReadingShow less
HBO Just Announced Its Streaming App Is Going Back To A Familiar Name—And The Internet Can't Even
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

HBO Just Announced Its Streaming App Is Going Back To A Familiar Name—And The Internet Can't Even

Max is getting its “HBO” back, says Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).

Starting this summer, the streaming service will once again be called HBO Max, a move the company announced as not just a name change, but also a strategy shift.

Keep ReadingShow less