Friends reunion: Matt LeBlanc explains how drunken incident night before audition won him role of Joey

‘I told the truth and got the job,’ actor told shocked co-stars

Matt LeBlanc has revealed it was a drunken incident that occurred the night before his audition that secured him a role in Friends.

The actor recalled preparing for his final callback for the role of Joey Tribbiani back in 1994 in the new reunion episode.

While the actor was a favourite for the role among creators, Marta Kaufmann and David Crane, it was a drunken incident he had the night before his final audition that secured his casting.

In the Friends reunion, LeBlanc explained he had been running lines with his friend the night before, who said: “So, the show’s about a group of friends? Then we should go out drinking.”

LeBlanc agreed and, after a heavy night of bar-hopping, “woke up in the middle of the night in his apartment” needing to go to the toilet.

“I got up too fast and – I can’t believe I’m telling you this – I kind of blacked out, as you do, and fell face first into the toilet,” he continued.

“I hit my nose on the bottom of the toilet seat and a huge chunk of meat came off my nose. I’m looking in the mirror and it’s bleeding.”

Hours later, he arrived at his final callback with a “huge scar”, where Kaufmann asked: “What happened to your face?”

According to LeBlanc: “I told the truth and got the job.”

Matt LeBlanc reveals drunken incident night before ‘Friends’ callback won him the role of Joey (Warner Bros Entertainment Inc)

Interestingly, the actor he beat to the role was Louis Mandylor, the person who plays the fake Joey in season six episode, “The One With Unagi”.

The reunion’s biggest moment came when Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer revealed they had real-life feelings for each other while filming the show.

Find our verdict on the reunion in Adam White’s review here.

Watch Friends: The Reunion on Sky One and streaming service NOW from Thursday 27 May.