IN A SCENE from “Episodes,” Mircea Monroe and LeBlanc (2011) Photo from SHOWTIME/IMDB.COM
LOS ANGELES—Matt LeBlanc plays a fictionalized, twisted version of himself in “Episodes,” his comedy series which Showtime has ordered for a fourth season. The actor, now sporting gray hair but still looking young and boyish, was the first to admit that he sometimes asks the writers about certain situations in the show, “Is that how it really happened?”
Looking dapper in a navy suit and a blue dress shirt, the “Friends” star was in a relaxed mode.
In “Episodes,” the outrageous version of Matt stars in “Pucks!,” an American adaptation of a UK hit series by writers-producers Beverly and Sean Lincoln (played by Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan). A Hollywood network exec, Merc Lapidus (John Pankow), convinced the Lincolns to agree to the US remake. So the British couple headed to the US and soon found themselves struggling to save their show and their marriage.
DAPPER in a navy suit, LeBlanc was relaxed in this interview. PHOTO BY RUBEN NEPALES
“What is great about Jeffrey Klarik and David Crane (creators) is that they can take the seed of an idea and elaborate on it to the point where it really feels like it happened,” said Matt. “They make it so believable.”
As an example, Matt cited how Jeffrey and David run away with a real situation and fictionalize it. The actor related, “I had done ‘The Graham Norton Show’ in London. The show’s format is different—all three guests come out at once. It was Zac Efron, myself and Lee Mack. They introduced us. Lee came up first, then me and then Zac Efron. So I was like, does that mean that I am not the lead guest? I remember having this funny conversation with the (‘Episode’) writers about it. It led them to that.”
Hollywood in general
Matt clarified: “A lot of it is just them coming up with stories they heard from other actors. Not all of it is based on me. A lot of it is based on Hollywood in general, all of those awful things that can happen to you in this town. They just happen to put me in the driver’s seat. It’s funny—people have called me brave with regard to this project. I don’t look at it as that. I am flattered people think that. But I have incredible trust in the writing and if that’s perceived as bravery, so be it.”
Asked to give an idea that he rejected because it would have been too much, Matt obliged, laughing: “It was in the premiere of Season Two, when we were watching the ‘Pucks!’ pilot in Merc Lapidus’ house downstairs. His wife (Jamie, played by Genevieve O’Reilly) and I have a sexual experience during the thing. There was a joke after that which alluded to butter in my pants—in my area, I will leave it at that.
“When we table-read the draft of that episode, it didn’t take much convincing to get them to change it. They were like, ‘Yeah, that might have been a little (too much).’ But for the most part, we are all on the same page, like the taste level is pretty consistent throughout the group.”
Matt said he appreciated that “it’s not all like this big, silly stuff. There was some really great stuff this year like the scene with my ex-wife, where we were making sauce and I realized that there is someone else in her life now. I get really pulled up by that.”
As to what the show’s followers can expect in the next season, Matt dropped hints: “The writers are setting the groundwork for Season Four. From the discussions I’ve had, we will see my guy sort of try to make a change in his life. So I am really looking forward to see where that goes but you have to go into the hole pretty deeply to make the coming out of the hole worthwhile.”
“It sure does,” Matt chimed in when told that “Episodes’ ” milieu makes it easy for any of his “Friends” co-stars—Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox—to make guest appearances. “When they are off writing, David and Jeffrey are pretty secretive. They asked me to have dinner with them tomorrow night so maybe I will get a little insight into what’s coming.”
“Absolutely,” he answered if he’d welcome a guest stint by his costars from the TV show that launched their careers. “I just don’t know what the story would be. The way they did it in Season Two was really funny—the one-sided phone calls were extremely clever and very cheap.”
On being different from the Matt LeBlanc in “Episodes,” the actor explained, “I am cut from a simpler cloth than he is. I have a very blue-collar ethic and background. I try to keep my feet firmly on the ground no matter what happens in my life, no matter how big a success or failure it is.
“There’s an old saying—the people you see on the way up are the same people you will see coming down. I follow the Golden Rule. That’s the way I was raised—treat people the way you want to be treated. It has worked out so far for me. Knock on wood.
Fun experience
“He’s much more self-centered than I am,” he added about his fictionalized persona. “But he’s a hard guy to hate. They have done a really good job of crafting him. We work on playing all the beats. They are very carefully chosen—how to make him this monster-y guy, self-centered and really is, excuse the language, kind of an a*****e. But I still like him, for some strange, unknown reason. So it has been a really fun experience.”
He traced the roots of his blue collar background. “My mother worked in a factory that made circuit boards, things like that. My father was a carpenter and motorcycle mechanic. Just about everyone in my family goes to work with some kind of tool in their hands.”
On Joey Tribiani, his character in “Friends” that led to a spin-off series, “Joey,” Matt said there’s certainly a part of him in that role. “Any actor who plays a part—there’s a part of that person in that role. You need to put enough of yourself in it so it’s like no one else can play him. I am probably Joey’s biggest fan. I had the time of my life playing that part.
“He was a guy who would commit on a dime and then bail on that same dime. There were almost no social rules to who he was, and he was still able to be a likable character. He was a very friendly, honest, open guy but he just had his own agenda.”
CAST of “Friends” (from left): Jennifer Aniston, LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry in 1994. Photo from IMDB.COM/COURTESY OF GETTYIMAGES.COM
Matt claimed that he’s “not super-driven” like most Hollywood players are. “When ‘Episodes’ came along, I wasn’t really looking for something to do. David and Jeffrey called me up. I had such a great experience working with them before. I said, ‘Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Okay, let’s go and do that.’ I am kind of lazy. I hate to admit it.”
These days, Matt splits his time between LA, Santa Barbara, California (where he has a ranch) and London (where “Episodes” is mainly shot). He devotes much of his time away from work to Marina, 10, his daughter with ex-wife Melissa McKnight.
He described a typical non-working day: “I get up in the morning and I make breakfast for my daughter. I take her to school. I help her with her homework after school, which is really nice. I spend a lot of time with her. I really enjoy being a dad.”
“When we shoot Season Four, we’ll be in London so I won’t get to see her every day,” he said. “That’s hard but that’s a by-product of this business. So thank God for Skype.”
It was interesting to learn that Matt has become a cowboy. Well, sort of.
He said, “I grew up in a suburb of Boston in an apartment. We didn’t have any cows there.” But now he has “about 100 cows. I have a cattle ranch on the central coast of California so I spend time back and forth between there (and LA).”
“The cattle are called Corriente,” Matt described the animals that keep him busy. “They are usually bred for rodeos. The price for this particular kind of cows stays pretty steady because of what they are used for—for practice roping and rodeos.”
He said that he loves being in his cattle ranch, away from the glitz of Hollywood. “It’s something that I really love. I love the outdoors. It’s great to watch these huge animals and nurture them. It’s a learning process for me.”
He also has some horses. “I taught my daughter how to ride a horse.” He added with a laugh, “She’s rapidly becoming better than I am.”
Coming out this month is Matt’s “Lovesick,” a comedy directed by Luke Matheny, whose “God of Love” won the 2011 Oscar Best Short Film, Live Action Award. Fil-Ams Gigi Dement, Stephen Dypiangco and Stefanie Walmsley produced that short with Ryan Silbert.
Workout buddies
On his buffer physique these days, Matt said, “I train in the gym every day. I have a gym at my house. And lately, I have been training with my stepson (Tyler). He’s 23 now. So I have a 23-year-old, a 19-year-old (stepchildren Tyler and Jacquelyn, Melissa’s kids from a previous marriage) and a 10-year-old. That makes me feel so old.
“But anyway, he (Tyler) has been my training partner for about six months now. He’s finally gotten into it. That’s a big difference there. The recovery process for a 23-year-old body versus a 46-year-old body is much different. So the next day when I am sore and trying to get him to take it easy, he will push me. It’s been good for both of us.”
(Email the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com. Follow him at https://twitter.com/nepalesruben.)