They may have been romantic love interests in Serving Sara, but Elizabeth Hurley was not feeling the love when working with Matthew Perry amid his years-long addiction battle.
The actress opened up to Yahoo! Entertainment on Wednesday while reflecting on her and the Friends alum’s 2002 rom-com — which was apparently a “nightmare” to film! Thankfully, she doesn’t have any hard feelings about the man himself, just the situation he put them all through. She explained:
“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.”
Oof. That would be hard.
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In the comedian’s new memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, the 53-year-old author revealed the production on Serving Sara was put on pause so he could go to rehab, causing Elizabeth and their director Reginald Hudlin to be “pissed off,” which he completely understood.
At the time, his addiction had reached a new high. Speaking to ABC News‘s Diane Sawyer last month, he explained he was consuming Xanax, Methadone, and a quart of vodka each day while working on both the movie and his acclaimed sitcom at the same time. So, it’s no surprise he needed to take a break and get help. But while he was away at treatment, the cast and crew of the romantic comedy were on standby. The Royals alum told Yahoo “that was a little tough,” elaborating:
“We were in a force majeure and had to all sit at home twiddling our thumbs for some time.”
The 57-year-old added:
“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.”
When the 17 Again star did return to set, “he was fabulous,” even though he had a lot of extra work to make up for since he had to “revoice everything that [they] shot before” his two-month stay at the rehabilitation center. Matthew revealed the same in his book — noting he had to redo his previously recorded dialogue because he was slurring his words the first time. Wow!
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Unfortunately, despite getting help for himself and trying to do his best in the film, the rom-com still wasn’t much of a success, he divulged in the tell-all:
“Of course, the movie tanked anyway. I was paid $3.5 million to do the movie and I got sued for the shutdown, even though it was a health issue. At the mediation table a team of insurance flacks faced me down, so I just wrote them a check for $650,000.”
Jeez. That must have been so frustrating. While the Christmas in Paradise star hasn’t “actually read the book yet,” she has taken a look and been impressed by some excerpts, she dished:
“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.”
He sure does have a way with words — except when he’s putting his foot in his mouth! It’s definitely interesting to hear from more and more of his co-stars who witnessed his struggle up close and personal. We’re so glad he managed to get himself out of this dark place, no matter what it took. Thoughts?
[Image via Paramount Pictures/Movieclips/YouTube & MEGA/WENN/Brian To]
The post Elizabeth Hurley Says Working With Then-Addict Matthew Perry On <i>Serving Sara</i> Was A 'Nightmare' appeared first on Perez Hilton.