Matt LeBlanc Biography
Matt LeBlanc is an American actor who gained fame for his role as Joey Tribbiani in the popular sitcom "Friends". He has been nominated for the Golden Globe award several times, but won it for another leading role - playing himself in the series "Episodes" by David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik. Later, he became a producer and portrayed the main character Adam Burns in the sitcom "Man with a Plan".
Childhood, Youth, Family
Matthew Steven LeBlanc (full name of the actor) was born in the summer of 1967 to Patricia Grossman and Paul LeBlanc, who lived in Newton, a city in the United States. His mother, of Italian descent, worked in an office, while his father, whose ancestors were French, Irish and English, worked as a car mechanic.
According to Matt, his mother had a great sense of humor, which she passed on to him:
Despite his humor, LeBlanc took everything he did seriously. He won motocross races, and having learned to work with wood and make household items from it, once won the "Golden Hammer" award, given to the best masters in their field.I love laughter. When the atmosphere becomes awkward or tense, whether it's a business or family conversation, and everyone's on edge or at a funeral, I'm always the first to joke. I like to laugh - I think I got it from my mom. She has a great sense of humor. I think comedy (I don’t know how to better express it) for humanity - is like a first aid kit: it helps to build bridges, relieve tension and fix a lot of things.
I went to New York, to a friend in Bronxville. She was studying at Sarah Lawrence College. I decided to wander around the city, and it so happened that I ended up in an office with a manager who offered me a five-year contract to shoot commercials. I said, 'Okay,' took the contract home, thought about everything - and signed.
Acting Career
Matt landed his first roles in the early 90s, advertising famous brands like Coca-Cola and Levi’s.
Recalling his auditions for the film, Matthew told the following:
Along with the charming Matt and the sparkling Courteney (neat cook Monica Geller), Jennifer Aniston (daddy's girl Rachel Green), Lisa Kudrow (hippie masseuse Phoebe Buffay), Matthew Perry (complexed office worker Chandler Bing), David Schwimmer (divorced paleontologist Ross Geller) were approved for the youth series. This sextet first appeared on screens in 1994 and kept the attention of viewers in many countries for more than a decade.I went to the audition, got a callback, went again, and so it happened about five times. In the end, the last auditions were with Courteney Cox - for compatibility. I found it strange because there were no relationships between Monica and Joe in the script. But they needed to see how we would play together because at that time they only hired her. She was the first because she was already famous then. At the last audition, it was just me and another guy. In the role description, where the hero's age and everything else was, it said: an Italian-American, a budding actor in New York. And my competitor was dressed like a cowboy. And I thought, 'One of us was given the wrong directions.' Fortunately, everything worked out in my favor.
An interesting experience for LeBlanc was participating in the car show Top Gear, where he managed to outrun other race participants in his car. In 2016, he was invited to this project, which Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May had just left, as a co-host. For four seasons, Matt enthusiastically filmed the show with Chris Harris and Rory Reid. But in the summer of 2018, he announced that he had to leave the project because he could not devote enough time to his family due to constant travel.It was fun filming in 'Episodes.' It was a chance to make fun of myself and our business. It is interesting and funny. I am often told that it was so brave to play myself and show myself in such a light. I don't know about bravery - the script was amazing. I always say that I don't mind being the butt of the joke if it's funny.
In 2021, along with the other actors who played the main characters in "Friends", LeBlanc happily participated in the filming of the movie "Friends: The Reunion".We were considering different options. The idea was: here is a character, he has his own construction company, a wife, three children. The youngest daughter went to kindergarten, and the wife wants to return to work, to build a career. And the man, because he loves his wife and wants to maintain a good atmosphere in the family, agrees: 'Okay, let me unload you, I will take care of the house, take the children to school, to the garden.' And he tries to organize everything in life. That's probably what this title is about.
Matt LeBlanc's Personal Life
The popular actor's string of romances began in his youth. He has often admitted to being quite amorous, although he tries not to share all his love conquests.In the early nineties, he met model Tanya Poole, a relationship that resembled a roller coaster. Over three years, they would date and then part ways, and towards the end of the relationship, Matt was spotted at a café with a young Kate Hudson, who was 17 at the time.
The string of romances temporarily halted in the early 2000s when LeBlanc met model Melissa McKnight. After several years of dating, the couple married in Hawaii. In 2004, their daughter Marina Pearl was born.
Two years after the wedding, LeBlanc fell back into old habits. His affair with stripper Stephanie Stevens became public, and he publicly asked for forgiveness for his indiscretion. Melissa did not forgive him and filed for divorce in 2006, but the actor regularly visits his daughter.
Matt LeBlanc Now
Recently, Matt LeBlanc has hardly been filming and rarely appears on television.
It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life. It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never. Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love. And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me.
Interesting Facts
- LeBlanc recalled that before he was cast in "Friends," he was so poor that he greeted the joyful news with only 11 dollars in his pocket – that was all the money he had.
- In those years, he was attending auditions and saving money on absolutely everything, even dental care. Before taking photos for his first professional portfolio, the photographer told Matt that one of his front teeth was longer than the others, which could ruin the overall impression. Matt found a dentist he knew, who estimated the work at 80 dollars. The aspiring actor didn't have that kind of money, so he bought three packs of sandpaper and filed the tooth down himself.
- There were plenty of interesting stories on the set of "Friends." For instance, after filming the pilot episode, director James Burrows took all six actors to the "Caesars Palace" restaurant, seated them at a round table in the middle of the room, and declared that this would be the last day each of them could go out and dine peacefully in a restaurant without being stared at. Matt didn't believe him, but after the huge success of "Friends," he realized he was right.
- Since childhood, Matt LeBlanc loved to tinker with cars and motorcycles. Now, his collection includes about twenty cars, not only sports cars but also pickups, SUVs, and vintage cars. But according to the actor, he has more motorcycles in his collection than cars.
