Maggie Wheeler has declared Matthew Perry "survived the unthinkable" during his years of substance abuse.
Maggie Wheeler played Janice in Friends opposite Matthew Perry as Chandler
The 'Friends' star opened up about his drug problems in his candid book 'Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing' in which he described horrific experiences including a brush with death when his colon burst - and Maggie says she found it "difficult" to read.
The actress - who played Matthew's 'Friends' love interest Janice - told New York Post column PageSix: "[There were] so many startling revelations about the ways Matthew has suffered over the years trying to wrangle his addictions ...
"I think he’s done a tremendous job and he’s really survived the unthinkable. And I’m so proud of him and I’m so happy he’s here and I think it’s very brave that he’s written a book and he’s out talking about it, he’s really helping a lot of people."
She went on to reveal that no matter what Matthew was going through privately, he was always the total professional on the set of 'Friends'.
Maggie added: "He showed up for work even when he was in his darkest place, he showed up for work with all his humour and brilliance and talent. There was never a day working on set with him where I felt insecure about how he was going to participate in the process, he was 100 percent, even when he was struggling."
Matthew recently opened up about how touched he was by the reaction to his book - insisting he's glad his terrifying tale was able to help other people battling addictions.
He told E! News: "People have just loved it. "I shied away from nothing and I told the truth and the biggest thing was, the goal was, to help people and I know of a lot of people already who have been helped by it."
When asked about the most surprising aspect of the reaction, Matthew said: "That people took the story into their hearts. And we've already heard about five different people that have read it and then checked into rehab the next day."
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