Friends was a show that turned its stars into household names in record time. Each person was perfect for their character, and they were all brilliant during the show's legendary run on NBC.
Matt LeBlanc has stayed busy since the show ended, and while some projects didn't quite work out, LeBlanc's place in history after starring on Friends remains unchanged.
Getting the role of Joey changed everything for LeBlanc. He always had the chops for the character, but a bizarre incident had a hand in him scoring the role.
Let's hear what LeBlanc had to say about landing the role of Joey Tribbiani.
Matt LeBlanc Has Had A Successful Career
From 1994 until 2004, Friends was a juggernaut on the small screen that was still airing fresh episodes. Unbelievably, the show is still as popular as it was back then!
Starring a list of performers that weren't huge names at the time, this series was exactly what audiences were looking for back in the mid-1990s. Yes, Living Single did it first and arguably did it better, but Friends caught fire and never looked back.
Many moments and lines from the show have been deeply embedded within pop culture for nearly 30 years. There aren't many projects that can lay claim to this, and this is only possible because of the perfect combination of writing and acting.
The show had many things working for it, including the casting of one of its most lovable characters.
He Was Brilliant As Joey Tribbiani On 'Friends'
To say that Matt LeBlanc was the perfect pick to play Joey Tribbiani is a massive understatement. There were a lot of great performers up for the role, including Vince Vaughn, but there is simply no way this show would have been what it was had anyone else been in the role.
LeBlanc had the right look, the right talent, and the perfect comedic timing to play the character. It's almost as if he was always destined for the role.
While he was a perfect fit for the role in terms of his acting abilities, the truth is that LeBlanc isn't much like his famous Friends character.
"People will speak slowly to me sometimes. And they always ask me if I'm all right, because I'm much more low-key and reserved than my character in Friends. They think that I'm depressed, or I'm sad, or upset – but I'm just not amped up to go out in front of an audience and do a TV show. That's not who I am," the actor said.
LeBlanc might be different from Joey, but an incident before his big audition was just enough like the character to get him the job.
How He Landed The Role
So, how did Matt LeBlanc actually cement himself as the right actor to play Joey Tribbiani on Friends all those years ago? Turns out, an accident from the night before and his endearing nature ultimately sealed the deal.
According to the actor, "I remember I had gone in a bunch of times and I think it was on the final callback, I had gone with a friend of mine to run lines. And he said, ‘So the show is about friends and being friends? Just a group of friends?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, kinda!’ And he was like, ‘Well, we should go out drinking.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s a good idea!'”
This kickstarted a chain of events that helped him get the gig of a lifetime.
"To make a long story short, I woke up in the middle of the night at his apartment and had to go to the bathroom. I got up too fast and I can’t believe I’m telling this, but I kind of blacked out — as you do — and fell face-first into the toilet, hit my nose on the bottom of the toilet seat, and a huge chunk of meat came off my nose. And I’m looking in the mirror, it’s bleeding, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God. I have to go in for the big callback and [there’s] a big ugly scab on my nose,'" he continued.
Sounds like a disaster, right? Unbelievably, series co-creator Marta Kauffman saw a lot of the character in LeBlanc's story, and this was instrumental in him landing the job.
Matt LeBlanc's wild night out and subsequent accident somehow got him a role that net him global fame and millions of dollars. Most of us just end up with a headache and some regret.
