Matt Leblanc, who is most well-known for his role as Joey on Friends, recently opened up about his troubled relationship with his father.
Matt was raised by a single mother, Patricia, and didn’t meet his father Paul until he was eight years old. “You can learn valuable lessons from unpleasant people too,” Matt told Britain’s The Times Magazine. “My dad wasn’t around when I was born and I only met him for the first time when I was eight.”
Matt and Paul were able to somewhat salvage their relationship when Matt was a child, but Matt cut him out of his life when he landed the role on Friends in the 1990s. Once Matt hit it big with his role on the comedy, Paul started selling stories about Matt to the tabloids for money.
“We had a good relationship when I was a kid – he taught me how to ride a motorcycle, how to sail a boat, how to tie knots. Since then he has sold stories about me to the tabloids. We don’t really speak any more,” Matt said.
Speaking of Friends, Matt recently talked about his time spent on the show, and how he wouldn’t change a thing. “I’ll always be known for Friends—so will Matthew [Perry], David [Schwimmer], Courteney [Cox],” LeBlanc told the Boston Common of the show that also starred Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow. “It’s OK with me. I can only speak for myself, but I’m very proud of it. I wouldn’t do anything differently.”
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