Friends actor Matthew Perry wanted to be honest with his new memoir, and that meant owning up to a lot of his mistakes made throughout his life. Notably, that includes the struggles he’s had with addiction and how that would affect the productions he was involved with. Not only does that include Friends, but it would bleed into Perry’s film work as well, as was the case with the film Serving Sara.
Released in 2002, Serving Sara co-starred Perry and Elizabeth Hurley, and while they served as the leads, it’s certainly worth noting that Bruce Campbell also starred in the film. The movie bombed at the box office, though there had previously been issues behind the scenes as well. In his memoir, called Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry recalls how his problems had gotten so bad that they held up production on the movie, angering both Hurley and director Reginald Hudlin.
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“During Serving Sara … the director was pssed off — I’d ruined his movie; Elizabeth Hurley, my costar, was pssed off (she never got to do another movie, either),” Perry says in the book.
Perry also said in a promotional tour for the book that he was hooked on Xanax, Methadone, and vodka at the time of filming, heavily affecting his speech. He told ABC’s Diane Sawyer that he had to go to rehab to get himself sobered up enough to record new voiceover work for the scenes he’d shot while under the influence.
Elizabeth Hurley Confirms Perry’s Story, But Still Has Fond Memories of Working With Him
Speaking with Yahoo Entertainment, Perry confirms Perry’s recollection of filming Serving Sara, though she’s going by what she’s heard about it in the press as she hasn’t yet read the book. With that said, Hurley has kind things to say about the “lovely person” that is Perry and says her memories of working with him are mostly positive, though she admits that there were times that the production felt like a “nightmare” when the actor’s problems began to heavily affect filming.
“I haven’t actually read the book yet, but I’ve read [excerpts] of it,” Hurley says. “It’s quite interesting. He’s a very funny writer like he’s a very funny man. He’s an incredibly gifted comedian… his way with words is fantastic.”
She goes on to explain, “I have very fond memories of him. To be honest, it was a nightmare working with him at that time and, as it’s now known, our movie was shut down because of his addiction. We were in a force majeure and had to all sit at home twiddling our thumbs for some time.”
Hurley also remembers how it felt when Perry went to rehab, but she notes that once the actor returned to the production upon getting sobered up from rehab, he was again joyous to be around.
“That was a little tough, but he came back and he was fabulous,” she says. “It was tough, obviously he was having a tough time, but he was still very charming and a lovely person to work with, but you could see he was suffering for sure.”
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is now available in bookstores.
