Who is Joey in Friends?

Joseph Francis Tribbiani Jr aka Joey Tribbiani is a fictional character and one of the main cast members of the American comedy series Friends. The character has been shown in the series from the very first episode and has been one of the most consistent characters until the last episode. The character of Joey is a struggling actor who took up the profession in pursuit of his dream to become a famous star.

Being of Italian heritage, Joey Tribbiany was born to Joseph Tribbiani Sr. who works as a pipefitter, and his mother Gloria, a homemaker. The series shows Joey to be a huge family guy where he is seen standing up for his family through thick and thin. Joey is much loved in his family, not just by his parents but also by his seven sisters Mary Therese, Mary Angela, Dina, Gina, Tina, Veronica, and Cookie. Joey has a close brotherly friendship with Chandler Bing, who is Joey’s best friend in the series.

What is Joey’s personality like?

Throughout the series, Joseph Tribbiani is known as almost a "dim-witted" person who has an immense love for food, family, friends, and women. While originally the makers of the series had not planned for Joey’s character to be dim-witted, Matt LeBlannc’s performance made the creators believe that such a personality would make Joey’s character more funny.

While Joey is quite fun as a character, he is also shown to be quite dependable and would go to any lengths for his friends in the series. From working as a bad service person at Monica’s restaurant to helping Rachel while she was pregnant, Joey has shown the real quality of friendship throughout the series. One of the funniest and most childish qualities that Joey has is that he never shares his food. His love for food is at another level, to the point where he even stopped dating a girl because she took food from his plate.

Joey enjoys playing video games and foosball and loves sandwiches and pizza. His pizza craze was termed “Joey’s Special” amongst his friends. Most of the time Joey is seen watching Baywatch and Beavis and Butt-Head with Chandler throughout the series. Joey is a New Yorker and this is shown by his love for sports teams like the New York Yankees in baseball, New York Knicks in basketball, and New York Giants in football.

Joey's career in Friends

In Friends, Joey introduced himself to Chandler as an upcoming celebrity and a rising star in television. But at the time the character was only a struggling actor. While in the initial seasons, we have seen Joey struggling with his career, working in small gigs around New York including advertisements and theater plays, the character makes his way to bag the role of Dr. Drake Ramoray on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. Despite his fame remaining short-lived as the character was killed off at a certain point, Joey did not lose hope and it resulted in him getting various other roles like a World War epic. Apart from acting, Joey was seen in other roles as well including working in small advertisements and hosting a game show.

Joey's relationships

Joey has a reputation in Friends being the lady's man, charming any woman with his charisma and his famous dialogue "How you doing?" The character is seen having numerous flings throughout the series and has appeared quite less in dedicated relationships. The 2 main relationships where we see Joey showing his softer and more vulnerable side were when he was with Kathy and Charlie. By the end of the series, we also have a moment where Joey catches feelings for Rachel who had moved into his apartment after Monica and Chandler got together. While the two start showing real feelings for each other, Joey ultimately prioritizes their friendship over love and lets Rachel go.

Who plays Joey Tribbiani in Friends?

Joey Tribbiani is played by actor Matthew Steven LeBlanc. The American actor had made his name with this series and it was after Friends that Matt was offered roles in various other television shows. The actor has also played the role of Joey in a spin-off series going by the character's name. Matt has also been in series like Top Gear, Man with a Plan, Web Therapy, and many more. Born on July 25, 1967, Matt LeBlanc has also been featured in various movies like Ed (1996), Lost in Space (1998), Charlie's Angels (2000), All the Queen's Men (2001), and many more.