Matt LeBlanc Biography

Matthew Steven "Matt" LeBlanc (born July 25, 1967) is an American actor, best known for his role as Joey Tribbiani on the NBC sitcom Friends and its spin-off Joey. In 2011, LeBlanc began starring as a fictional version of himself in Episodes, a BBC Two/Showtime television series created by Friends co-creator David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik. LeBlanc won a Golden Globe award for his work on Episodes, after being nominated three times for his work as Joey Tribbiani on Friends.

Early life

LeBlanc was born in Newton, Massachusetts. His mother, Patricia, was an office manager, and his father, Paul LeBlanc, was a mechanic. His mother is of Italian descent and his father was of French-Canadian ancestry.

Career

In 1988, he landed his first regular TV role on the drama TV 101 which ran for one season. In 1990 he starred in Jon Bon Jovi's music video "Miracle," from Young Guns II sound track. In 1991 he starred in the music video for the Alanis Morissette single "Walk Away". He also appeared in the last seconds of the music video for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Into the Great Wide Open" in which he is seen playing the trumpet. In 1991, he went on to star in a spin-off of Married... with Children titled Top of the Heap. The Fox series lasted seven episodes airing in April and May 1991. In 1994, he starred in Bob Seger's "Night Moves" music video.

LeBlanc found success in the role of Joey Tribbiani on Friends, and went on to play this character for twelve years "? ten seasons of Friends and two seasons of Joey. Friends was successful and LeBlanc, along with his co-stars, gained wide recognition among viewers.

LeBlanc has appeared in the films Ed (1996), Lost in Space (1998), Charlie's Angels (2000), and All the Queen's Men (2001).

In 2000, LeBlanc starred in Bon Jovi's music video "Say It Isn't So".

Matt LeBlanc's production company, Fort Hill Productions, co-produced the made-for-TV movie, The Prince in 2006.

In 2011, LeBlanc began appearing as a fictional version of himself in Episodes, a BBC/Showtime television series about a British television series that is remade for an American audience. The series is written by Friends co-creator David Crane and his partner Jeffrey Klarik. LeBlanc won the 2012 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Series Comedy for his performance. The second season of Episodes began airing on BBC Two on 11 May 2012.

In February 2012, LeBlanc appeared in the second episode of the eighteenth series of Top Gear, where he set the fastest time of 1:42.1 in the Kia Cee'd, narrowly beating previous holder Rowan Atkinson by 0.1 seconds. He also appeared in Series 19 Episode 4 to race the New Kia Cee'd, and beat the old car time.

Personal life

In May 2003, LeBlanc married Melissa McKnight, a former model. McKnight and LeBlanc had been introduced in 1997 by her friend Kelly Phillips, wife of actor Lou Diamond Phillips, and LeBlanc proposed to her a year later. Their daughter Marina, born in 2004, began suffering seizures at age eight months, which affected her motor skills. By the time she was two years old, however, the condition, thought to be a form of dysplasia, had largely receded.

In June 2005, LeBlanc admitted to "careless and irresponsible" behavior with a stripper during a motorcycle trip to Canada. LeBlanc and McKnight separated on January 1, 2006. By that time, LeBlanc was involved in a relationship with actress Andrea Anders. In March of that year, LeBlanc filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce became final on October 6, 2006.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Anything to Survive	Billy Barton	TV film; credited as Matthew LeBlanc
1993	Grey Knight	Terhune	aka Ghost Brigade and The Killing Box
1993	Red Shoe Diaries 3: Another Woman's Lipstick	Kyle
1994	Reform School Girl	Vince	TV film
1994	Lookin' Italian	Anthony Manetti	aka Showdown
1996	Ed	Jack 'Deuce' Cooper
1997	Red Shoe Diaries 7: Burning Up	Jed
1998	Lost in Space	Major Don West
2000	Charlie's Angels	Jason Gibbons
2001	All the Queen's Men	O'Rourke
2003	Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle	Jason Gibbons
2006	The Prince		TV film, producer
2010	Jonah Hex		Executive producer
2013	Lovesick	Charlie Darby	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Doll Day Afternoon	GI Joe	TV short
1988"1989	TV 101	Chuck Bender	13 episodes
1989	Just the Ten of Us	Todd Murphy	2 episodes
1990	Monsters	Tommy	Episode: "A Shave and a Haircut, Two Bites"
1991	Top of the Heap	Vinnie Verducci	7 episodes
1991	Married... with Children	Vinnie Verducci	3 episodes
1991	Vinnie & Bobby	Vinnie Verducci	7 episodes
1991	Red Shoe Diaries	Tom's Brother	2 episodes
1993	Class of '96	Frank Goodman	Episode: "Bright Smoke, Cold Fire"
1994"2004	Friends	Joey Tribbiani	236 episodes
2004"2006	Joey	Joey Tribbiani	46 episodes
2011"present	Episodes	Fictional version of himself	16 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1995	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Friends
2002	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor (comedy)	Friends
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Musical or Comedy	Friends
	Teen Choice Awards	TV Choice Actor	Friends
2003	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor (comedy)	Friends
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Musical or Comedy	Friends
2004	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor (comedy)	Friends
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Musical or Comedy	Joey
2005	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Male Television Star	Joey
2011	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor (comedy)	Episodes
2012	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Musical or Comedy	Episodes
2013	Golden Globe Awards		Episodes
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor (comedy)	Episodes