Matthew Perry shocks Friends co-stars with heartbreaking memories from filming: ‘I thought I was going to die’

Matthew Perry has revealed he felt like he was ‘going to die’ if the studio audience didn’t laugh at Chandler Bing’s lines while filming Friends.

The 51-year-old opened up about his crushing anxiety while making the show to co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc during the long-awaited Friends Reunion which finally landed on NOW in the UK today.

Among the many bombshells exploding in the special, including David and Jennifer admitting they had feelings for each other while Ross and Rachel were having their own on-off again romance, Matthew candidly discusses his difficulties while recording the sitcom to a live audience.

‘At least to me, I felt like I was going to die if they didn’t laugh,’ he said, which comes as a huge surprise to the rest of the cast.

‘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.’

‘You didn’t tell us that,’ Lisa said. ‘I don’t remember you ever saying that.’

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‘Oh yeah, I felt like that every single night,’ the actor explained.

During the special Matthew’s speech appears to be slurred, which sparked concern among fans.

However, insiders close to the star revealed he underwent a ’painful’ dental procedure just hours before filming.

Matthew previously opened up about his battle with alcoholism during the height of Friends’ success, admitting he doesn’t ‘remember three years’ of filming Friends.

‘I was a little out of it at the time — somewhere between seasons three and six,’ he told BBC News.

Also in the Friends Reunion, Joey is finally back with his hand twin and Lady Gaga joins Lisa Kudrow to perform a very extra duet of Smelly Cat, praising Phoebe for being there for ‘the different ones’.

The Friends Reunion is available to stream on NOW and will air on Sky One tonight at 8pm.

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