15 years after Friends ended, Matt LeBlanc is still getting recognized for his character… well, to some extent.
During a visit to Live with Kelly and Ryan on Thursday, the actor opened up about the beloved sitcom’s longevity and how people continue to stop him on the streets for his role as Joey Tribbiani.
But things didn’t go exactly as he expected during one particular fan encounter when his age proved to be more apparent than he thought.
“I was walking down the street one day — this was a few years ago — and this kid, must’ve been 13 or 14, he’s like, ‘Oh my god, you’re Joey’s dad!'” LeBlanc, 51, recalled to Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest.
“And my response was ‘Scram!'” he continued, laughing at his own reaction. “That’s what an old guy says!”
“Yeah, that’s what somebody’s dad would say!” Ripa agreeably chimed in. Seacrest jokingly added, “Scooby, scram!” and imitated a dog running away.
LeBlanc has previously revealed that he gets recognized for his character, even in the most unexpected and “far away” places.
“I was in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, shooting a thing for Top Gear,” the actor-host told Entertainment Weekly. “I mean, we were far away from civilization. And these people were wearing robes, and they live in caves and stuff.”
“They called me Joey and said, ‘How you doin’?’ in a really butchered accent,” he added. “It was like, ‘Oh wow. Did not see that one coming.’ … The show is everywhere. It still holds up.”
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Friends ran for 10 seasons from 1994-2004 and continues to be watched by fans, both in syndication and on Netflix, which acquired all 236 episodes at the beginning of 2015.
Of the show being embraced by people of all ages, LeBlanc told Ripa and Seacrest on Thursday, “It’s unbelievable for me. It seems like every year there’s a new generation that watches it.”
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In January 2015, shortly after the show was acquired on Netflix, the actor explained why he thought the show is still so beloved today.
“It’s pretty timeless,” LeBlanc said of the famed sitcom. “It’s about people in a phase of your life – that sort of after college and before your life starts.”
“There’s always going to be a new generation going through that, and they can identify with it because we kind of dealt with a lot of the issues that you deal with where your friends are your family,” he added. “I think it’s good. I’m proud of it.”