First Published: January 16, 2014 3:23 PM EST Credit: Getty Images
PASADENA, Calif. -- 
Caption Matt LeBlanc speaks onstage during the ‘Episodes ' panel discussion at the Showtime portion of the 2014 Winter Television Critics Association tour at Langham Hotel on January 16, 2014 in PasadenaHe may have moved on, but Matt LeBlanc maintains a great fondness for the character that made him a household name – Joey Tribbiani from “Friends.”
Matt mentioned his former character on Thursday at the Television Critics Association Winter Tour 2014 in Pasadena, when a writer asked which character is more challenging for him as an actor – playing Joey, or playing the post-“Friends” fictional version of Matt LeBlanc on Showtime’s “Episodes.”
“I guess they’re equally challenging to play. For me, Joey will always have a special place in my heart,” Matt said. “That was a really fun guy to play.
PHOTOS: Hollywood’s Famous Friends
“This is a guy whose achieved great success and that’s fleeting and he’s trying to get that back and that struggle is interesting in itself as well,” Matt added of playing “Matt LeBlanc” on his Showtime comedy, now in its third season.
As for filming the Showtime series, it only takes up a quarter of the year and that is just fine with the star.
PHOTOS: Hollywood Dads & Their Adorable Little Ones!
“Four months a year of work for me is plenty,” Matt told TV writers. “I’m a dad. I have a 10-year-old and you know making her breakfast and taking her to school, and getting her after school and helping her with her homework — that’s really fun. We spend time together and take trips and do all kinds of stuff like that. … I feel really fortunate to be in a position where I don’t have to work.”
“Episodes” airs Sunday nights at 10:30 PM ET/PT on Showtime.
-- Jolie Lash
Copyright 2014 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
