Gary Oldman and Matt LeBlanc share a strong friendship and a memorable memory tied to Friends. The Oscar-winning actor explained that, thanks to his friend Matt LeBlanc, he appeared as a guest star on Friends and, because of that role, earned a nomination for the Emmy Awards. But how did it actually happen?
Friends, Gary Oldman explains how he landed that role in the sitcom thanks to Matt LeBlanc
On the air from 1994 to 2004 for ten seasons, Friends became a touchstone of the small-screen comedy genre. One of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, it introduced a group of six friends navigating everyday life in New York, with beloved settings such as Monica’s apartment, Chandler and Joey’s place, and also Central Perk.
Gary Oldman also had the chance to appear in Friends, albeit in a guest role that earned him an Emmy nomination. The credit for that casting goes to his close friend Matt LeBlanc, who for years played the naïve Joey. Even before winning an Oscar, Gary Oldman acted in Friends, earning an Emmy nomination. His stay was brief: he appeared in two episodes in 2001, portraying Richard Crosby.
At the Toronto International Film Festival 2026, the actor recalled the talent of his colleague Matt LeBlanc, with whom he struck up a friendship after sharing the set of the 1998 film Lost in Space, and thanks to that friendship he had the opportunity to act in the sitcom. “How did I end up in Friends? It was because of Matt LeBlanc! We became friends and the Crosby opportunity presented itself, he asked me: ‘Would you like to do it?’”.
He remembered how working on a sitcom functions: “We’d arrive on Mondays, read through the script. Then they rewrote it. They sent us the revised versions on Wednesdays. I don’t remember if we went on Thursdays as well. On Fridays we did the dress rehearsal and in the afternoon we filmed in front of the audience. We finished around five and I thought: ‘I could get used to all of this.’” In addition to LeBlanc, Oldman also praised the talents of his fellow Friends Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and the late Matthew Perry: “I’ll tell you, the wonderful thing was watching them during the technical rehearsals. Watching those actors was like breathing for a moment. It’s as simple as breathing. It was a fantastic experience to witness the rehearsals and the behind-the-scenes of that show.”
Friends kicked off its Emmy nominations: subsequently it earned more nominations, all related to Slow Horses, the sci-fi series returning with its sixth season streaming on Apple TV from September 16, 2026.
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