In case you didn’t already know, the Friends reunion is officially available for your streaming pleasure.
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During the reunion special, Matthew Perry, aka Chandler Bing or Miss Chanandler Bong opened up to his former co-stars Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox for the first time about the intense anxiety he experienced filming in front of a live studio audience.
"To me, I felt like I was gonna die if they didn't laugh," he revealed to the five other stars on the Central Perk set. "And it's not healthy for sure, but I would sometimes say a line and they wouldn't laugh and I would sweat and just go into convulsions if I didn't get the laugh I was supposed to get. I would freak out.”
His revelation appeared to take the rest of the cast by surprise, with Kudrow pointing out that Perry never shared those feelings with them back then, to which he replied, "Oh yeah, I felt like that every single night.”
When Friends was on the air mental health wasn’t really ever talked about, but now 17 years after those 6 individuals left their keys on the counter to go get some coffee for the very last time, talking about mental health struggles has become a whole lot less taboo.
While Perry’s admission of live audience anxiety was a first, this isn't the first time he’s talked about the personal struggles he faced while filming Friends.
In an appearance on BBC Radio in 2016, he admitted three years of the "Friends" era were hazy due to his alcoholism and substance abuse. When asked which his least favorite episode was, he told the interviewer: "I think the answer is I don't remember three years of it. ... Somewhere between season 3 and 6.” Adding, “I was a little out of it.”
Audacy’s I’m Listening initiative aims to encourage those who are dealing with mental health issues to understand they are not alone. If you or anyone you know is struggling with depression or anxiety, know that someone is always there. Additionally, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-273-8255.