'Friends' star Matthew Perry spent a good portion of his early career dealing with an addiction to alcohol and opiates. Now that he's on the other side of it, he's turning one of his homes into a rehab facility.

Perry, who did numerous stints in rehab himself, told ABC News, "I think I was pretty good at hiding it but, you know, eventually people were aware."

"I honestly recoil," the actor said of photos taken during his addiction days, admitting, "It's scary to look at that. I was a sick guy."

However, instead of attacking the paparazzi for covering his downward spiral, he says they were instrumental in stopping his problem because it put him in the public eye. "I couldn't just walk into a bar," Perry said. "Everybody in the bar would go, 'You, you can't do that. I just read that you can't do that.'"

To help others become sober, Perry donated his Malibu, Calif. home -- now dubbed the Perry House -- to serve as a stopping point between rehab and a return to normalcy for men in need.

In recognition of his generosity, Perry received the Champion of Recovery award from the Obama administration earlier this month, something the actor said was "a very surreal thing," joking, "We're award-winning alcoholics."

As for a 'Friends' reunion, Perry also denied such a thing being in the works. "It was so terrific," he said of the sitcom that made him a household name. "If we did a movie and it sucked, then it would, you know, blemish it."

But if you're going to Jennifer Aniston's upcoming nuptials to Justin Theroux, take a camera and you might catch an impromptu gathering of the cast. "I would assume I'll be there," he quipped.

More From KISS FM