There is a good possibility that you are familiar with Joey Tribbiani and the actor who portrays Matt LeBlanc, regardless of whether or not you are a fan of the television show Friends.
Even after the long-running sitcom came to an end, Matt LeBlanc kept playing the role of Joey in the spin-off series titled Joey. However, despite appearances to the contrary, the actor did not like this experience at all.
It can be mentally and physically taxing to play the same role for an extended period of time. Not only in a physical sense, but also in a mental one.
Your mind may be muddled by the desire to satisfy the audience that has watched you for a significant amount of time, and as a result, you may not immediately recognize this fact.
LeBlanc received one of the biggest incomes in the history of television, together with his co-stars on the show Friends. Why then did LeBlanc virtually vanish after the Joey television show was canceled?
Many people were mystified by the fact that LeBlanc had not been offered any roles to play. After all, he has a great sense of humor and is an extremely talented actor. Fans had no idea that Matt LeBlanc always intended to take some time off and that this was his plan all along.
LeBlanc admits in an interview with The Mirror that has recently been rediscovered that he had reached his breaking point after spending all of this year not only working but also playing the same character.
LeBlanc opens up:
“For years and years, I hardly ever ventured outside the confines of my home. I was completely spent. I didn’t want to be tied down to a routine or obligated to go anywhere. I was in a position to be of assistance in that regard.”
After working so diligently for such a significant amount of time, one certainly deserves some time off! Unfortunately, LeBlanc exhibited symptoms of depression as well. He went on to explain that it was “a very dark moment” for him, and that it came dangerously close to causing a nervous breakdown.
When you consider that LeBlanc had been portraying the same character for the previous 12 years, I can’t even begin to fathom how challenging it must have been for her to try to reinvent herself for a new part.
At the same time, Cinemablend reports that the actor was also going through a divorce with Melissa McKnight at the time, and that around the same time, his daughter Marina was also given a diagnosis of cortical dysplasia.
After the conclusion of Joey in 2006, LeBlanc did not return to the small screen until the release of Web Therapy in 2013. Lovesick, which will be released in 2014, Episodes, which will run from 2011 to 2017, and Man with a Plan, which will run from 2016 to 2020. Who knows where we’ll run into him next, but we can’t wait to find out!
