Matthew Perry wrote in his memoir that he didn’t want to be remembered for Friends, but rather for who he helped. The actor has been candid about his struggle with addiction, and following Perry’s death, his longtime friend Hank Azaria opened up about how the 17 Again star helped him get sober too. And it was through humor. Using some absolutely hysterical examples, like how the actor would troll McDonald’s employees in drive-thrus, The Simpsons actor lovingly paid tribute to his pal and their shared experience with addiction and recovery.
In a guest essay for the New York Times, Hank Azaria reflected on his friendship with Matthew Perry, who was his first friend in LA, as he said on Instagram. He noted that they had been friends for almost 40 years, and he called the actor “the funniest friend [he] ever had,” and “the person who helped [him] get sober.” He wrote that the Friends star supported him a lot, especially in his early days of sobriety, saying that Perry’s humor is what really helped him:
