Before Matt LeBlanc was Joey Tribbiani on “Friends,” it definitely wasn’t his day, his week or even his year.
On Thursday night’s episode of “Conan,” the actor revealed that he was totally broke before he was cast as the lovable ladies’ man on the classic sitcom.
“I had, I think, I was down to $11,” the actor, 51, said of his bank account before landing the part.
“That’s holding out too long. Because even if I said at that point, ‘All right, I’m going to go get a waiter job,’ by the time that $11 ran out, it would have been before the first paycheck on that job. I would have starved.”
Life did imitate art — or art imitated life — in this instance, since he wound up playing Joey, an actor who also had trouble making ends meet (well, at least until he got cast as Dr. Drake Ramoray!).
In his conversation with host Conan O'Brien, LeBlanc also recounted what happened when he first tried to get a headshot.
“[The photographer] said, ‘Before we take this, you might want to go get that tooth filed.’ I go, ‘What are you talking about?’ He goes, ‘One tooth is a little longer than the other one. You should go get that filed.’”
LeBlanc, who didn’t have insurance, said he went to see a dentist who told him it would cost $80 to file the tooth. So, what’d he do?
“I go to the drug store and buy a three-pack of emery boards,” which he used to do the work himself.
“I’m very frugal,” he admitted.
Hmm, filing his own tooth to save a few bucks? Sounds like something Joey would do!