Matt LeBlanc was born in the small town of Newton, Massachusetts and moved to New York City after high school to pursue modeling and acting. He landed minor roles on TV and appeared in popular music videos, including Jon Bon Jovi's 'Miracle' (1990), Alanis Morrisette's 'Walk Away' (1991) and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 'Into the Great Wide Open' (1991). These gigs kept the lights on, but Matt craved the dazzling Hollywood spotlight. So, like many starry-eyed dreamers before him, he left a somewhat stable (if not financially rocky) life in NYC in pursuit of a tenuous future in LA.
After landing the role of lovable ladies' man Joey Tribbiani on Friends, Matt LeBlanc shot to stardom. Earning a cool $1M per episode at the end of the series' run, he is currently worth an estimated $80M. Not too shabby for a guy who told Today he once filed down his own teeth to save a few bucks and, "I had, I think, I was down to $11." The extraordinary success of Friends opened film studio doors and Matt began landing major movie roles, starring alongside some of the biggest names in the industry. Some proved very lucrative, while others were disasters. From blockbuster theatrical releases to film festival failures, here are the movies diehard Matt LeBlanc fans should add to their watch list.
8 'Charlie's Angels' (2000) Is Matt LeBlanc's Highest Grossing Film
Charlie's Angel's was a popular TV series from 1976-1981 and starred Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, and Kate Jackson. It revolved around a sexy trio of crime-fighting women and their boss, Bosley (David Doyle). The 2000 Columbia Pictures film stars Matt LeBlanc alongside Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu.
With a budget of $93M, this movie is LeBlanc's highest grossing. The film earned $125,305,545M domestically and $264,105,545 worldwide, making it the highest-earning Angel's film to date.
7 'Charlie's Angels Full Throttle' (2003) Couldn't Top It's Predecessor
With the success of the last Charlie's Angels, Columbia Pictures tried for another home run by releasing a sequel and upping its budget to $120M. This film also starred Diaz, Barrymore, and Liu and added Demi Moore and Justin Theroux to the roster.
Although profitable, this movie couldn't top its predecessor, earning $100,830,111 domestically and $259,175,788 internationally.
6 Matt LeBlanc Starred As Don West In 'Lost In Space' (2003)
With a budget of $80M, Warner Bros shot for the stars with this movie reboot of the sci-fi TV series that ran from 1965-68. LeBlanc starred as Don West, with William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, and Lennie James also headlining.
The flick made a respectable $69,117,629 domestically while taking in $136,159,423 globally.
5 'Lookin Italian' (1994) Got Some Poor Reviews
LeBlanc portrays Anthony Manetti, a young man who moves in with his ex-mobster uncle, Vinny Palazzo (Jay Acovone). When Anthony begins going down the same dark road he did on the dangerous LA streets, Vinny must guide him away from temptation while keeping his own demons at bay.
The film had a budget of $380K and was written, directed, and produced by Guy Magar (Retribution, 1987). However, it was not well received by critics. Variety reviewer Steven Gaydos noted the movie's inconsistent tone and said, "Lookin' Italian fails to overcome the script's familiar turns and hoary clichés." IMDb.com users agreed, rating it 5.0.
4 'Lovesick' (2014) Co-Starred Chevy Chase
Lovesick received mixed critical reviews at the Newport Beach International Film Festival. On Rotten Tomatoes, the romantic comedy has a score of 29% (14 reviews) with an audience score of 20%.
The comedy was written by Dean Young and directed by Luke Matheny. Chevy Chase, the winner of two Primetime Emmys, also starred, proving even a Hollywood Walk of Fame inductee can't hit them all out of the park.
3 'Grey Knight' (1993) Starred Martin Sheen And Billy Bob Thornton
It's usually a bad sign when a movie has more than one title, and this one has three more: The Killing Box, Ghost Brigade, and Lost Brigade. Sadly, the film failed to wow critics or audiences despite the all-star cast (Martin Sheen, Billy Bob Thornton, David and Alexis Arquette, and Corbin Bernsen).
Written by Matt Greenberg, the movie premiered at the Santa Monica Film Festival and revolved around an evil voodoo entity that possesses the dead bodies of Civil War soldiers. It had a $1.2M budget and received a rating of 4.7 on IMDb.com.
2 Adam Sandler Turned Down The Role In 'Ed' (1996)
Wisely, Adam Sandler turned down this move to make Billy Madison. Nominated for 4 Razzie Awards on imdb.com, including worst picture, it earned a rating of 2.7/10. The story revolves around Jack Cooper (Matt LeBlanc), a minor league baseball player, and Ed, his chimp teammate.
Desson Howe from the Washington Post quipped, "Breathtakingly unadventurous, with its cheesy storyline ... and collection of one-dimensional human nincompoops." With a $24M budget, it grossed $4,422,380 globally.
1 'All The Queen's Men' (2001) Flopped
There's no denying it – this Matt LeBlanc WWII comedy/action movie flopped. The film was released in October 2001 at the Mill Valley Film Festival in California and went nowhere fast.
With a $15M budget, it grossed a paltry $23,662 in the U.S. and Canada and struggled to earn $121,258 internationally. The flick also starred Eddie Izzard and Udo Kier.
