Charlie Sheen regrets not reaching out to Matthew Perry before his death.
Sheen reflects on his connection to the “Friends” star in his new memoir, “The Book of Sheen,” which offers a raw account of his lifelong battle with addiction and his repeated rebounds from rock bottom.
In the book, Sheen writes, “Matt and I shared a deeper truth we saw in each other — we were both, as Bobby Dee Jay [his nickname for Robert Downey Jr.] used to say, ‘veterans of the unspeakable.’”
Talking more about his bond with Perry in an interview with Page Six published Tuesday, the Golden Globe winner said, “We had that common ground instantly with each other.”
Sheen told the outlet how he read his pal’s 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing” in a single day, calling the book “brilliant.”
Sheen said soon after cracking it open, “I turned off my phone, I just said, ‘OK, this is all that matters right now.’”
He was particularly charmed by part of the book where Perry reveals how he prayed to find fame after seeing a TV segment about Sheen’s struggles in the mid-90s.
“I’m in his book! It cracked me up when there’s a story about me on the news and he was like, ‘Fuck Charlie Sheen, I’m going to be just as famous one day.’ And I was like, ‘You go, Matt.’”
After finishing the memoir, Sheen meant to check in with his comrade. Sadly, he wasn’t able to make that happen before Perry’s untimely death.
“I was going to call him, just reach out and try to meet him up for a cup of coffee or something. And regrettably, I didn’t,” he told Page Six. “And Jesus, three weeks later he died.”
Perry was found dead at his LA home in October 2023 after accidentally drowning while incapacitated by the effects of ketamine.
While Sheen has been open about his adventures with all sorts of drugs, he told Page Six that ketamine was one of the few things her never tried.
“I never did it,” he told Page Six. “I knew a couple people that did and so I would see them on it. It just wasn’t a color I knew I would look good in.”
“The Book of Sheen” came out on Sunday. An accompanying Netflix documentary, titled “aka Charlie Sheen,” premieres on Wednesday.
Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.