Some actors are known for just one part. That’s what happened to Matt LeBlanc. He became famous for his role as Joey Tribbiani on Friends, and his charm, humour, and the famous line “How you doin’?” made us fall in love with him. But when the star wasn’t in front of the cameras, he went through some hard times. From not having enough money to the illness his 8-month-old daughter was told she had.
At Bright Side, Matt LeBlanc’s story gives us hope that we can get through life’s hard times, step up when things are hard, and deal with problems until the sun shines again.
Matt LeBlanc didn’t even think about becoming an actor when he was young. This is different from many famous people who know they want to be actors. He loved bikes and also learned how to be a carpenter.
After his second term, he quit college and went to New York to try to become a model, but he was told that his height wasn’t right for that job. But he didn’t give up, and at an audition, he was able to sign with an agency. After being in commercials for well-known names like Levi’s, Coca-Cola, Heinz, and Doritos, he moved on to TV.
Matt got parts in some TV shows, such as TV 101. He also played a regular part on the show Married… with Children. But none of these jobs gave him the steady income he needed or the big break he was looking for. Before Friends became popular, the actor had only $11 left and was always trying to get by. For example, he fixed his own teeth because he couldn’t pay a dentist.
The show’s makers told Friends: The Reunion that it was hard to choose between Matt LeBlanc and Louis Mandylor. The second person did end up being in the show, but in a different part. Joey called him his “twin brother.” Friends fans will always remember LeBlanc’s character for his charm, lack of common sense, big, kind heart, and his “ability” to speak French.
On May 6, 2004, Friends came to an end. Matt married American actor Melissa McKnight a year before he had a child. That same year, he also became a father. But things didn’t work out the way the happy couple had hoped. When their daughter was 8 months old, she began having seizures.
After the show was over, Matt kept playing his character, Joey, in a new show with the same name. Later, the show was canceled, and he left TV to spend more time with his daughter, Marina. She was told she had cortical dysplasia, which is a brain disorder that changes how the nerves work.
Matt knew his daughter had a problem when she fell on her left side every time she crawled. When she was diagnosed, they were told that the disease could even hurt her vocal cords and make it so she couldn’t talk.
Matt and Melissa McKnight split up in October 2006. From that year on until 2011, he had nothing to do with the media. “A lot was going on in my personal life, and I didn’t feel like being funny…. We used to get along great, so I don’t know if my marriage was doomed to fail. Maybe it was because my daughter was sick. He said in an interview, “Maybe I lost myself by focusing too much on my work.”
“I hardly ever left the house for years and years. I was exhausted. I didn’t want to make any plans or go anywhere. And I was in a place where I could do that. Most actors will call their managers and ask what they have for them. I called mine and told him to stop calling me for a while. It was a time of trouble. He told The Mirror, “I almost had a nervous breakdown.”
LeBlanc moved to California to live on a ranch with his daughter, even though he and his ex-wife share care of their daughter. “My daughter was told she had a problem with her brain. He told The Mirror, “It was a very dark time, but we got through it. Don’t they say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger?”
“I’ll never forget when she was born. I fell in love with her as soon as I saw her, which had never happened to me before. I didn’t think it was true. I knew then that I would love her no matter what, even if she crashed my Ferrari.
Marina got better from her illness, and now she likes to watch Friends with her dad. The actor said that if they are changing channels and the show comes on, they stop what they are doing and watch the episode. “She is always asking me things like, ‘Was that real? You really ate that, right? Did you eat it right off the ground? That’s really gross! You make me laugh, Dad!'”
