1. Matt LeBlanc garnered global recognition with his portrayal of Joey Tribbiani in the NBC sitcom Friends and in its spin-off series, Joey.
20 Facts About Matt LeBlanc
1. 2.
Matt LeBlanc has starred as a fictionalized version of himself in Episodes, for which he won a Golden Globe Award and received four additional Emmy Award nominations.
3.
Matt LeBlanc's mother, Patricia, was an office manager; his father, Paul LeBlanc, was a mechanic and a veteran of the Vietnam War.
4.
Matt LeBlanc's father is of French-Canadian descent and his mother is of Italian ancestry, the daughter of immigrants from Arce, Lazio.
5.
Matt LeBlanc dropped out shortly after starting his second semester.
6.
Matt LeBlanc moved to New York at the age of 17 to pursue a career in modeling, but he was told he was too short to be in the industry.
7.
Matt LeBlanc's acting career began after a woman invited him to accompany her to an audition, where he ended up getting signed by her manager.
8.
Matt LeBlanc first appeared in a 1987 Heinz Tomato Ketchup commercial.
9.
Matt LeBlanc played Vinnie Verducci, a family friend of protagonist Al Bundy who briefly dates his daughter, Kelly.
10.
Matt LeBlanc guest-starred in the first season of Red Shoe Diaries.
11.
Matt LeBlanc appeared in two Bon Jovi music videos: "Miracle," from the Young Guns II soundtrack in 1990, and "Say It Isn't So" in 2000.
12.
Friends was wildly successful, and LeBlanc gained wide recognition among viewers.
13.
From 2011, Matt LeBlanc appeared as a fictionalized version of himself in Episodes, a television series about an American remake of a fictional British television series.
14.
In February 2012, Matt LeBlanc appeared in the second episode of the eighteenth season of Top Gear, where he set the fastest lap time in the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment in a Kia Cee'd.
15.
Matt LeBlanc appeared in the fourth episode of the nineteenth season to race the New Kia Cee'd, and beat his previous time.
16.
In February 2016, the BBC announced Matt LeBlanc had signed on to become one of the new Top Gear hosts, signing a two-year deal later that year.
17.
Matt LeBlanc played the lead role in the CBS sitcom Man with a Plan, which began airing in 2016 until it was cancelled in 2020.
18.
Matt LeBlanc has an extensive interest in cars, and worked as a carpenter before acting.
19.
Matt LeBlanc married Melissa McKnight, a British-born American model and a divorced single mother of two children, in May 2003.
20.
Matt LeBlanc met actress Andrea Anders in 2004 while she was co-starring as his friend and eventual love interest on Joey.