Joey Tribbiani was a down-on-his-luck actor at several points during “Friends” and so was Matt LeBlanc — before he landed his defining role.
In fact, LeBlanc was so poor before he became Joey that the actor said that he only had $11 to his name when he got the call that would change his life forever.
And that low bank balance was not for lack of trying, as LeBlanc was pinching pennies any way he could while auditioning, which included doing his own dental work. No, this is not something dumb that Joey did in an old episode that you may have missed.
LeBlanc told host Conan O’Brien during Thursday’s “Conan” that when he went to get his first ever headshot, the photographer told him one of his teeth was a little longer than the others and he might want to get it filed down before they took the pricey pics.
So he went to a phone booth (“this is back when there were phone booths”) and found a dentist who told him he could do it for him for $80 since he didn’t have insurance.
“80 bucks?!?! Lemme see the file,” LeBlanc said, reenacting the experience for O’Brien. “So I go to the drugstore and buy like a three pack of emery boards,” he continued, laughing.
Yes, he did in fact file down his own tooth.
“I’m very frugal,” LeBlanc said.
Watch the interview above.