Friends' Matt LeBlanc Praised For Love Of Doing Nothing

Buzz Feed

3 days ago

Back in March, Matt LeBlanc went viral when the people of TikTok discovered his seriously refreshing approach to being wealthy.
For reference, Matt, 57, got his big break when he landed the role of Joey Tribbiani in the hit NBC sitcom Friends back in 1994, which ran for 10 seasons before coming to an end in 2004.
According to various reports, the six main cast members were originally paid $22,500 per episode during Season 1, and by the third season, this had jumped to $100,000. By Season 9, the cast had famously negotiated a salary of $1 million per episode — the largest-ever deal for a sitcom at the time. And if you're wondering, most seasons consisted of 24 episodes, with some as high as 25.At the time of writing, Matt has an estimated net worth of $85 million, and Marketplace previously reported that the cast earns around $20 million each a year through Friends reruns alone. This is because they started to receive 2% of the show's syndication profits after Season 6. And if any of the stars' bank accounts needed an extra boost, Variety reported that they were each paid $2.5 million to take part in the 104-minute reunion documentary that aired in 2021.
The six actors all enjoyed successful careers after Friends, too, including Matt — although his jobs have arguably been a little less steady than some of his former costars.
Between 2004 and 2006, the actor starred in a spin-off about his Friends character called Joey. Matt didn't appear onscreen again until 2011, when he landed a role in Episodes. His last screen appearance was in June 2020 after his show Man With A Plan was cancelled. We also can't forget Matt's stint as a host on the British series Top Gear between 2016 and 2019, which he eventually quit due to the show's "time commitment and extensive travel" requirements.
And Matt has been incredibly open about how intentional his lack of TV work has been over the years, with the star making it clear that he only has one main priority at this point in his life, and that is to do nothing.
Speaking on Conan back in 2017, Matt admitted that he'd like to retire as soon as possible, saying: 'I think I would like to do not a fucking thing, that's what I would like to do. Just nothing, absolutely nothing, zero.''Any typical day; sleep as long as you want, or get up early — if you want. It's just not having to go somewhere or someone else telling you what you have to do,' Matt went on. 'Maybe you go to the gym, or not go to the gym. Maybe you have nine cups of coffee, or none.'
And the star doubled down on this mindset during a 2018 appearance on the Scandinavian TV show Skavlan, where he said of his post-Friends career: 'My plan was, I did 10 years of Friends, then two years of Joey, and then I said: 'Right, I'm gonna take a year off, I wanna take a year off and just relax.''
Chuckling to himself, Matt quipped: 'I had such a good time, I said: 'I'm gonna take another one,' right? And then that one was even better, so I said: 'Maybe one more!' And then it turned into five or six years.''My favorite thing in the world to do, like my absolute favorite thing in the world, is to do nothing,' he continued. 'I'm great at it. I should be a professional nothing. Because it's so easy, there's no rules! What are you gonna do today? I'll tell you: Nothing, pretty simple.'A compilation of these interview moments circulated on TikTok earlier this year, and many of its millions of viewers confessed to respecting Matt's approach to wealth. One of the comments even compared Matt's life to the definition of 'freedom,' with others saying that they would do the same in his position.And people have been reminded of Matt's relatable approach to working after another iconic interview moment recently resurfaced on TikTok.
The exchange happened when Matt appeared on the British talk show The Graham Norton Show back in 2011, with host Graham Norton not holding back as he said to the actor: 'It does sound like your work ethic isn't that high, you don't like leaving your home that much?'
'Yeah, I've got to get out of here,' Matt quipped in response as he jokingly checked his watch. Graham then said: 'But seriously, you do like to do nothing, don't you?'
'Yeah,' Matt replied. 'I hate to say it, my mom probably won't be too proud, but my favorite thing to do is absolutely nothing. I would sit on the couch forever if you let me.'
The host then pointed out that Matt has 'big toys' at his house to keep him busy, and Matt confirmed that he did with a huge smile on his face. He said: 'I've got some cool toys. I've got a big, huge bulldozer to play with. Big.'
When fellow guest David Mitchell asked the star if he also had buildings he could destroy with the bulldozer, Matt explained that he has things he can build, knock down, and then rebuild, adding: 'It's kind of fun.'
He also clarified that he doesn't keep the bulldozer in his garden, sharing: 'It's at this big piece of property I have. And I have a motocross track there, so we use it to make the jumps and do all that kind of stuff.'
This interview clip has been viewed more than 760k times at the time of writing, and racked up tens of thousands of likes and comments — many of which say the same kind of thing.'he does exactly what you should do when you can afford it. just nothing,' one person wrote, while somebody else echoed: 'That is the point of being rich.''He has the right idea, too many people work hard their whole life but forget to enjoy what they earn,' another user commented.One more added: 'work ethic pfftt hes got the work life balance down.''he makes MILLIONS off 'Friends' re-runs alone… i'd love to do nothing too if i had that kind of money 😅' somebody else confessed, while one more point out: 'Do you see the relaxed look on his face and forehead? Wish I had Matt LeBlanc money.'Another popular comment joked: 'He is actually joey just with money 😂😂'