Short Biography

Matthew Steven "Matt" LeBlanc (born July 25, 1967) is an American actor, known for his role as Joey Tribbiani in the NBC sitcoms Friends and Joey.

His father is Paul LeBlanc, and his mother is Pat Grossman. He is of mixed Irish and French descent on his father`s side, and of Italian ancestry on his mother`s side. (September `06 issue of People magazine)[citation needed] he is almost always cast as Italian.

When LeBlanc was 8 years old he wanted to be a motorcycle racer. He entered into junior competitions before giving it up. Matt trained and did well in carpentry when he was young, winning the "Golden Hammer" award while attending high school. He was also cast as Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Cultural Arts Playhouse.

LeBlanc graduated from Newton North High School in 1985. Before Newton North, Matt attended Frank Ashley Day Junior High School located in Newton, Massachusetts. After high school he attended college at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA. He left shortly after starting his second semester.

In the late 1980s, Le Blanc began appearing in a number of television ads, including well-known spots for Heinz, Levi`s and Coca-Cola. Matt has said that with one ketchup commercial he was able to buy a house, a car, a motorcycle, and a wardrobe full of clothes.

In 1988, he landed his first regular TV role on the drama TV 101 which ran for one season. In the late 1980s, he also starred in Bob Seger`s "Night Moves" music video. In 1990 he starred in Jon Bon Jovi`s music video "Miracle", from the Young Guns II sound track. In 1991 he starred in the music video for Alanis Morissette`s single "Walk Away", in which he played her boyfriend. Later in 1991, he went on to star in a spin-off of Married With Children entitled Top of the Heap. The short lived series only lasted 7 episodes in April and May of 1991. He also played his Top of the Heap character Vinnie Verducci in a number of Married With Children episodes. Le Blanc also appeared in one episode of Red Shoe Diaries in 1991.

Le Blanc finally made it big when he landed the role of Joey Tribbiani in 1994 on Friends, and went on to play this character for twelve years -ten seasons of Friends and two seasons of Joey. When Matt LeBlanc auditioned for the role as Joey Tribbiani he only had $11 to his name. When the cast got their paychecks, the first thing he bought was a hot dinner. Friends was hugely successful and Le Blanc, along with his co-stars, gained wide recognition among television viewers.

Miscellaneous Information

Friends and Family

Justin LeBlanc [Brother]

Pat Grossman [Mother]

Paul LeBlanc [Father]

Pets

Jay Dog

Shadow Dog

Lady Dog

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