Matt LeBlanc drew acting inspiration form Joey Lawrence for his role in Friends.
Joey Lawrence while promoting The Lawrence Brothers Detective Agency graphic novel along with brothers Matthew and Andy Lawrence, recalled the time when LeBlanc used to come to the set of Blossom to watch the rehearsals.
"He used to sit up in the stands, you know, [and] watch our rehearsals and stuff for weeks to sort of just see it see how I was playing Joey Russo," Lawrence told the Us Weekly.
According to the Brotherly Love actor, LeBlanc’s role in Friends is similar to Blossoms’ Russo, who was a lovable dimwit, played baseball and was known for his signature catch phrase, "Whoa."
Meanwhile, in Friends, LeBlanc’s Joey Tribbiani was a dimwit who, instead of playing baseball, was an aspiring actor who chased women and relied on his signature phrase, "How you doing?"
"The reason why [I played the character like] that is because they wanted a 25-year-old version, right?" Lawrence said.
"And I was only 15 at the time Matt’s a lot older than me, but that’s what they did," he further explained, "And they had that character on the show [Friends], I feel like, to be sort of girl crazy, or woman crazy, for Joey Tribbiani. But it was girl crazy for Joey Russo, you know? I mean, you have to be very innocent with that it can’t be a lecherous thing."
Lawrence went on praise LeBlanc saying, "I mean, [LeBlanc] went on and did amazing things with it, obviously, [and] won Emmys. I never won an Emmy."
The Lawrence Brother Detective Agency graphic novel officially debuted on July 24, 2025.
