Matt LeBlanc

Well, they have a camera right there. So you have to, you know, oh. Yeah, he really deserved it. Went inside, that's not really what you're feeling. I'll leave it at that.

RJ here. We are hanging out at the Young Hollywood studio downstairs at the Four Seasons with a guy that does not need much of an introduction. It's a face you all know. Matt LeBlanc.

You're too kind. Thanks.

You've actually had downtime, which so few people get from the business.

Yeah, I took almost five years off and just did nothing, which is ironically my favorite thing to do.

Explain nothing. I always wonder what that's like.

Well, nothing work-wise. I mean, I, you know, I'm a dad, so I have a six-year-old little girl. It's been great hanging out with her. She's in school now though, most of the day. She's in first grade. So, I'm bored now. I had her to play with before until she went to school. So, now she's in school. I figure I better get off my butt and go to work.

Does she have to be a lesbian?

Yes.

Or does she?

Yes, she does.

Are you sure?

Yes.

What if she isn't?

It would not be as good.

Or would it?

It would not.

Are you sure?

Yes.

Right. Let's assume you two could do this all day. I mean, there there's so many things you you could have done and Episodes is what you chose. What what made that be the one?

David Crane, who co-created Friends, and Jeffrey Klarik, who is a producer and a writer on Mad About You. Remember that show? Yeah. Um they're a writing team. I went and had lunch with them up in Santa Barbara. They pitched me the idea and I my only reservation was I didn't really understand what they what they meant by playing myself. Right. Now, that was a little strange to me and they assured me that it was not a documentary and that it would be a scripted character. It just happens to be Matt LeBlanc. He's a scripted character. So, once I got my head around that, it became started to get really fun and sort of push the envelope and you know, be self-deprecating and make fun of Hollywood.

Do you know what a balaclava is?

No.

How about an Anorak?

Now, you're just making sounds. But a lot of people have asked me if I have a problem being the brunt of the joke. Right. I don't really have a problem being the brunt of a joke if it's a good joke. If it's funny. If it's not funny, then yeah, I'll take issue with it, being the brunt of it.

That's interesting though. So, at the time, they actually didn't write anything. It was literally just an idea.

Yeah, it was just an idea. And thank God Schwimmer said no, you know. Right. It would have been his his deal.

In London now, it's a place you've spent some time. You did some Friends episodes there and you've done a film there. So, what's it like spending all this time in London now?

Yeah, it was it was fun shooting in London, you know, I mean, when I worked there in the past, I stayed in an apartment. This time I stayed in a hotel and it was great, you know, room service, 24/7. It was it was nice and uh I really enjoyed it. The people are great, the city's great. There's some really great restaurants there and

Anything else that that's different in London that that you wish they kind of had out here in America?

Drinking in London doesn't have the stigma that it has here, you know what I mean? Like over there people, it's much more accepted. It seems like people are drinking at lunch. They go out for lunch and they get drunk. Over here, people are like, no, I'm not going to drink at lunch. I have to go back to work. Right. But over there, it just seems like everybody's functioning alcoholics. I hope I don't get in trouble for saying that, but that's what it seemed like. Everybody would just like drinking at lunch or out every night drinking and drink, drink, drink, drink, drink. And it's part of the culture. Right. But they're fine, fully functioning nation. Everybody's okay.

Awards season's coming up. So, I got to got to touch upon that a little bit. You've had plenty of time at the awards shows. Any Emmy memories or Golden Globe memories or anything?

Yeah, yeah. Being nominated and not winning They're not fond memories.

When you're when you're nominated and you don't win, what what goes through your mind?

Well, they have a camera right there when you're nominated and you don't win. So you have to, you know, oh. Yeah, he really deserved it. Went inside, that's not really what you're feeling. So, I'll leave it at that.