Matt LeBlanc Revealed How He Once Bribed the Writers of ‘Friends’ During Season 2

It's impossible not to ask a Friends alum about the iconic 90s show. So when Matt LeBlanc a.k.a Joey Tribbiani, appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he revealed inside details and funny anecdotes while working alongside the whole team, including a "bribe" incident with the writers. 

LeBlanc sat down with Stephen Colbert in 2016 to reminisce about his time while filming with the sitcom team. He specifically recalled a hilarious incident when the Friends actor took his "nerdy" writers on a skydiving adventure. And according to the now 56-year-old, that might have earned him some brownie points. 

The host, Colbert, asked LeBlanc, "Are you like an Adrenaline Junkie? Is that true you actually like doing dangerous things for fun?" He responded, "Yeah! You don't?" The late-night host immediately said, "No, I don't." The audience laughed off in the background. The Friends alum said, "It's fun." 

That's when he narrated the thrilling incident. "I remember one time I took [during the second season] the writers, you know what the writers on the shows look like, 14 of the nerdiest people, no offense to writers out there," joked LeBlanc. He continued, "14 of the nerdiest guys ever and one girl, Alexa. And we took them all skydiving." 

The Man with a Plan actor added, "And we went through the course, and me and all of these writers got into a plane out of California, and they all jumped out of the plane. By the end of it, to see the way they walked, it was like a John Wayne-type." He joked that '"nobody died, nobody died.'"

Colbert asked him a valid question about the reactions of the show's producers to the skydiving adventure. He admitted that they warned him not to do it again. However, he said, "[during] the third season, there were some great Joey jokes." The host smirked at LeBlanc, calling him "smart" while the audience cheered on, per The Things.

Recently, the Friends cast suffered the irreplaceable loss of their "brother," Matthew Perry, who was found dead inside his hot tub on October 28, 2023. Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, and David Schwimmer all mourned his sudden demise. Meanwhile, LeBlanc paid tribute to his late co-star on his social media account. 

He wrote, "Matthew, It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life." The Instagram post continued, "It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you, and I'll never forget you. Never," adding, "Spread your wings and fly brother. You're finally free. Much love. And I guess you're keeping the 20 bucks you owe me." 

Nearly two decades after the hit sitcom ended, LeBlanc shared where his character (Joey) would be at this stage. He told PEOPLE, "[Joey] would have opened a chain of sandwich shops," to which Perry (alive at that time) added that his on-screen BFF would have subsequently "eaten all the sandwiches."

During the Friends Reunion, LeBlanc also said, "It's funny when we do get together, it's like no time has passed," he said. "We pick up right where we left off."