Sean Penn wasn't 'terribly surprised' by Matthew Perry's death
Sean Penn wasn't "terribly surprised" by Matthew Perry's death after the 'Friends' star spent years battling addiction.
Sean Penn wasn't "terribly surprised" by Matthew Perry's death.
The 'Friends' actor was found dead in the hot tub at his Los Angeles home aged 54 last month and the 'Flag Day' filmmaker described his passing as "tragic" but acknowledged the troubled star wasn't in the best of health following years of struggling with addiction issues.
Speaking on 'Piers Morgan Uncensored', Sean said: “It's tragic, I can't say that I was terribly surprised. II don't know what the whole coroner's report things and everything, but I know he had done a lot of damage to his organs over the years.
“You know, tough situation, and he got to do that, he got to leave that tale behind and he got to give a lot of joy to a lot of people with his talent. So, I wish his family well.”
The 'Milk' actor - whose son Hopper, 30, has battled addiction - praised Matthew as a "talented guy" and commended him for speaking frankly about his substance abuse problems.
He said: "What a talented guy. I can't claim to have known him well, but I liked him very much.
“I saw him somewhat recently, and we were both catching a flight out of Los Angeles airport, and I complimented him on what I knew of his book.
“I hadn't read the book, I had seen several of his interviews, and he seemed to be talking about it, had confronted it and was very intelligent and bold about it and generously offering his experience to people to be helpful.”
Sean's comments came shortly after Matthew's friend, Lauren Graham, told how her pal had been "so proud" of his 2022 memoir 'Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing'.
Speaking on 'CBS Mornings', the 'Gilmore Girls' star said: "This last year, he was so proud of the book he wrote, and of how many people it touched.
"It was a success that gave him a level of happiness that I hadn’t seen in him for a really long time, so that’s a nice memory."
Lauren - who met Matthew when they were shooting 2008 film 'Birds of America' - is "still in shock" at his passing.
She added: "I mean, it’s a really tragic loss, and he leaves his beautiful work behind.
"That’s something to be thankful for, and again, the book really meant something to him, so it was a really happy year for him."
