A Look At Bruce Willis And Matthew Perry’s Decades-Long Friendship

Matthew Perry’s memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” gave fans a deeper understanding of his past substance abuse. Interestingly, one of Perry’s bouts with substance use bled over into his onscreen work with Willis. In the memoir, Perry revealed that he and Willis would party during their free time. “But there was a big difference between Bruce and me,” wrote Perry. “Bruce was a partier; I was an addict. Bruce has an on-off button. He can party like crazy, then get a script like ‘The Sixth Sense’ and stop the partying and nail the movie sober.” 

Unfortunately, Perry resorted to popping pills to balance the incessant partying with their rigorous shooting schedule. “Those hundred Xanax worked like a charm,” shared Perry. “Meanwhile, Mr. A-list Willis over there looked like he could open an envelope with his chin,” he continued. That said, Perry and Willis also bonded on a deeper level that wasn’t connected to their extracurricular activities. “Sometimes, at the end of the night … Bruce and I would just sit and talk,” wrote Perry. Their late-night talks allowed Perry to get to know the real side of  Willis, which he found to be caring and selfless. Despite Perry’s fond feelings and willingness to sustain the friendship with Willis, they eventually drifted apart sometime after filming wrapped.