MAIN Art &... Pop Culture TV Stars Matt LeBlanc

Born Matthew LeBlanc on July 25, 1967 in Newton, Massacusetts, the handsome star of Friends (and survior of its cancellation with a a lead role in Joey, a hit spinoff) began his career as a model and TV commercial star.

In fact, it was an award-winning Heinz ketchup commercial ("Good things come to those who wait") in 1987 that eventually catapulted his television career, with his first series for CBS: TV 101 bombing after only 18 weeks.

Despite the setback, the young actor continued on with appearances on Married with Children, and in two very short-lived series, Top of the Heap and Vinny and Bobby.

His breakthrough role as Joey Tribbiani in Friends in 1994 made him not only a familiar face but a bankable star, which he parlayed into a separate movie career beginning with Ed in 1996, a starring role in Lost in Space, (1998), and in the mega-hit Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2000) opposite Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Cameron Diaz.

In 2005, the actor won for Favorite Male TV Star at the People's Choice Awards and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his starring role in NBC's Joey.

In 2010, a long-awaited return to televison features LeBlanc in the comedy Episodes planned to air on cable channel Showtime and BBC2. The television sitcom-within-a-sitcom features the actor playing himself starring in a dumbed-down American version of a hit UK show.

More about Matt LeBlanc around the Web:

Matt LeBlanc Yahoo! Movies - A profile of the actor and his career including biography, related groups and message boards, Web links.

Hello! Profiles - Matt LeBlanc - Complete biography, photo gallery, filmography.

Matt LeBlanc Current Month TV Schedule - Times and channels where the actor will appear in movie and TV appearnces around the network and cable dial.

Matt LeBlanc News - News headlines and current feature stories about the actor from various sources around the Web.