Joey Tribbiani: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Fictional character from the American sitcoms Friends and Joey}}
{{Primary sources|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Joey Tribbiani
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| alias = Ken Adams, Holden McGroin
| occupation = Actor<br>Cologne sampler (seasons 1–2)<br>Entry-level processor (season 2)<br>Acting teacher (season 3)<br >Christmas tree salesman (season 3)<br>Museum tour guide (season 4)<br>[[Waiter]] (season 4) <br>Barista (season 6)
| family = [[List of Friends characters#Joseph Tribbiani Sr. and Gloria Tribbiani|Gloria Tribbiani]] (mother)<br>[[List of Friends characters#Joseph Tribbiani Sr. and Gloria Tribbiani|Joseph Tribbiani Sr.]] (father)<br>[[Joey (TV series)#Main characters|Gina Tribbiani]] (sister)<br>Dina Tribbiani (sister)<br>Mary Angela Tribbiani (sister)<br/>Mary Therese Tribbiani (sister)<br/>Veronica Tribbiani (sister)<br/>Cookie Tribbiani (sister)<br/>Tina Tribbiani (sister)
| relatives = [[Joey (TV series)#Main characters|Michael Tribbiani]] (nephew)<br/>[[List of Friends characters#Nonna|Nonna]] (grandmother)<br />[[List of Friends characters#Nonnie|Nonnie]] (grandmother)
| significant_others = Angela Delvecchio (ex-girlfriend)<br/>Kate (ex-girlfriend)<br/>Kathy (ex-girlfriend)<br/>Janine (ex-girlfriend)<br/>Erin (ex-girlfriend)<br/>[[Rachel Green]] (ex-girlfriend)<br/>Alex Garrett (girlfriend)
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}}
 
'''Joseph Francis Tribbiani Jr.''' (born 1968/1969)<ref>"{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/friends-character-ages-change-wrong-explained/" Screenrant, |title=Friends: The Characters' Ages Explained (& How They Get It Wrong)|first1=Colin|last1=McCormick|first2=Kara|last2=Hedash|first3=Tom|last3=Russell|date=December 2, 2019|website=ScreenRant}}</ref> is a fictional character, serving as one of the [[List of Friends and Joey characters|primary characters]] of the [[NBC]] [[sitcom]] ''[[Friends]]'' and the protagonist of its spin-off ''[[Joey (TV series)|Joey]]''. He is portrayed by [[Matt LeBlanc]] in both series.<ref>[http://www.mattleblanc.net/ Matt Leblanc Fan Site]</ref>
 
Joey is an [[Italian Americans|Italian-American]] struggling actor who lives in [[New York City]] with his roommate and best friend, [[Chandler Bing]] ([[Matthew Perry]]), and hangs out in a tight-knit group of his best friends: Chandler, [[Ross Geller]] ([[David Schwimmer]]), [[Monica Geller]] ([[Courteney Cox]]), [[Rachel Green]] ([[Jennifer Aniston]]), and [[Phoebe Buffay]] ([[Lisa Kudrow]]). He lived with a few other roommates when Chandler moved out to move in with Monica.
 
Joey once mentioned being 13 in 1981.<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One with Joey's Fridge|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= March 23, 2000|season=6|number=19}}</ref> He is from [[Queens, New York]] and is [[Catholic Church|Catholic]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The One With the Dozen Lasagnas|url=https://fangj.github.io/friends/season/0112.html|website=fangj.github.io|access-date=10 December 2017}}</ref> Joey comes from a [[working-class]] Italian-American family of eight children, of which he is the only boy. His father Joseph Tribbiani Sr. ([[Robert Costanzo]]), is a [[pipefitter]], and his mother's name is Gloria ([[Brenda Vaccaro]]). Joey has seven sisters: Mary Therese (Mimi Lieber on ''[[Friends]]'') a.k.a. Mary Teresa ([[Christina Ricci]] on ''[[Joey (TV series)|Joey]]''), Mary Angela ([[Holly Gagnier]]), Dina (Lisa Melilli in ''The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister'', [[Marla Sokoloff]] in ''The One With Monica's Boots''), Gina (K.J. Steinberg on ''[[Friends]]'', [[Drea de Matteo]] on ''[[Joey (TV series)|Joey]]''), Tina (Lisa Maris),<ref name="mtv.com">{{cite web|first=Amanda|last=Bell|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2743243/joey-tribbianis-sisters-friends/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160227053305/http://www.mtv.com/news/2743243/joey-tribbianis-sisters-friends/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 27, 2016|title=Where Are Joey Tribbiani's Sisters Now?|website=[[MTV.com]]|date=February 24, 2016|access-date=November 12, 2018}}</ref> Veronica (Dena Miceli),<ref name="mtv.com"/> and Cookie ([[Alex Meneses]]). As a child, he was extremely accident-prone.<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One with the Boob Job|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= February 20, 2003|season=9|number=16}}</ref> In "The One with Ross' New Girlfriend", it was implied that he was sexually abused by his [[tailor]] but didn't realize it until Chandler went to the same tailor.
 
Joey is portrayed as promiscuous and dim-witted but good-natured, as well as very loyal, caring, and protective of his friends. The writers of ''Friends'' didn't intend on his character to be stupid but Matt Leblanc played "dim-witted" so well that it became a part of the character.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ReadingEagle |date=2021-06-05 |title=Friends creators 'didn't initially intend' for Joey Tribbiani 'to be stupid' |url=https://www.readingeagle.com/2021/06/05/friends-creators-didnt-initially-intend-for-joey-tribbiani-to-be-stupid/ |access-date=2023-11-30 |website=Reading Eagle |language=en-US}}</ref> He is a food-loving womanizer who has had more luck with dates than any of the other group members. In contrast to his persona as the "ladies' man", he has also a marked childish side. He enjoys playing video games and [[Table football|foosball]], loves sandwiches and pizza, and is a big fan of ''[[Baywatch]]'' and ''[[Beavis and Butt-Head]]''. As a struggling actor, he is constantly looking for work. He was ordained as a minister in "[[The One with the Truth About London]]" and officiated at both Monica and Chandler's and Phoebe and Mike's weddings.
 
He does not like sharing food, especially when it is pizza, and has difficulty with even simple mathematics. In sports, Joey likes the [[New York Yankees]] in [[Major League Baseball|baseball]], [[New York Knicks]] in [[National Basketball Association|basketball]], [[New York Giants]] in [[National Football League|football]], and the [[New York Rangers]] in [[National Hockey League|hockey]].
 
==Roommates==
 
Chandler Bing Seasons 1-5
Ross Geller S5/E3
Janine Lecroix Season 6
Rachel Greene Season 6-10
 
==Films==
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| ''Pinocchio''|| (1993) || [[Pinocchio]]
|-
| Unnamed [[Jean-ClaudeAl Van DammePacino]] project || (1994) || [[Al Pacino]]'s butt double (Fired)
|-
| The Milk Master 2000 Infomercial || (1996) || Kevin
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| [[Law & Order|''Law and Order'']]|| (1999) || Corpse
|-
| ''Shutter Speed''|| (1999) || (Bank robbedBankrupt on first day of production)
|-
| ''Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E.''|| (2000) || Mac Machiavelli
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|-
| ''Captured''|| (2005) || -
|-
| Deep Powder || (2005) || Captain Powder
|-
| ''[[Searching for Bobby Fischer]]''|| (2007) || [[Bobby Fischer]]
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==Appearances==
{{Very long|section|small=left|date=April 2019}}
Joey Tribbiani is a member of the [[Screen Actors Guild]],<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One Where Joey Loses His Insurance|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= October 14, 1999|season=6|number=4}}</ref> having refused to follow in his father's foot steps and become a gardenerpipefitter.<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One with the Boobies|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= January 19, 1995|season=1|number=13}}</ref> He started his acting profession doing [[theatre|stage]] work, introduced in the show's [[The Pilot (Friends)|pilot episode]] by Monica and Chandler having seen Joey in a production of ''[[Pinocchio]]''. Sometime before the start of the series, Joey also had appeared in a porn film, as a fully clothed extra.<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One with Phoebe's Husband|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= October 12, 1995|season=2|number=4}}</ref> Joey also mentioned appearing in a [[Play (theatre)|play]] with [[troll]]s before getting the leading role of [[Sigmund Freud]] in the musical play ''Freud!'' where he was first spotted by his [[talent agent]] [[Characters of Friends#Introduced in season two|Estelle Leonard]]. She immediately got him a film role in the same episode as [[Al Pacino]]'s "[[body double|butt double]]" – a speechless role he later lost due to taking the part too seriously. By then, he said, he had been doing "nothing but crappy plays for six years".<ref name="butt"/> Monica and Chandler also once discussed having seen Joey in a version of ''[[Macbeth]]'', in which he was unable to pronounce most of the words.
 
Joey becomes an "actor-slash-model" when he appears on print ads for the NYC Free Clinic, as a man named "Mario" who has a [[venereal disease]].<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One Where Underdog Gets Away|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= November 17, 1994|season=1|number=9}}</ref> He also did an [[infomercial]] for a device that lets you pour milk out of milk [[carton]]s; he played "Kevin", a man who had extreme difficulty opening the cartons without the use of the device. ("Kevin" also inadvertently choked on a cookie during the show.). This haunted him again when he appeared in the play 'The King', where he was made fun of due to choking on a cookie.
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In Season Two, Joey continued his stage work, appearing as "The King" in a poorly reviewed (and never-named) play. Published reviews of his performance claimed he was "disturbingly unskilled" and that he achieved "brilliant new levels of sucking" in a "mediocre play" with "mindless, adolescent direction".<ref name="russ">{{Cite episode|title=The One with Russ|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= January 4, 1996|season=2|number=10}}</ref> Only days after these reviews came out, Joey gets his big break when he lands his first major role as Dr. Drake Ramoray on the soap opera ''[[Days of Our Lives]]'', a real-life television show outside of the context of ''Friends'' which featured Jennifer Aniston's father [[John Aniston|John]]. In-universe, Joey had initially gone in to read for a one-shot role as a cab driver; it is implied that he got the recurring role of Ramoray by sleeping with the casting director.<ref name="russ"/> While still playing Ramoray, he also appears in a bit role as a dead man in the film ''Outbreak 2: The Virus Takes Manhattan'', starring [[Jean-Claude Van Damme]]. (Originally his character was only dying in the scene but due to Joey overacting, it was changed to him being already dead.)
 
Several episodes later, Joey costs himself the ''Days of our Lives'' gig when during an interview with ''[[Soap Opera Digest]]'', he radically overstates and claims he writes most of his own lines. This angers the show's writers, who out of spite, "kill off" his character by having Dr. Ramoray fall down an elevator shaft. Joey takes this very hard and admits that his role on ''Days'' was the best thing that ever happened to him.<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= March 21, 1996|season=2|number=18}}</ref>
 
He goes back to stage acting in Season Three appearing in a play called ''Boxing Day'' opposite love interest [[Characters of Friends#Introduced in season three|Kate Miller]]. The play seems to start out as a conventional drama but ends with Joey's character "Victor" being taken from his apartment by aliens.<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One with the Screamer|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= April 24, 1997|season=3|number=22}}</ref> In Season Four, he lands a small one-scene movie role as a cop, playing his scene opposite [[Charlton Heston]].<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One with Joey's Dirty Day|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= February 5, 1998|season=4|number=14}}</ref>
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Joey had some bad luck in terms of his acting career. In Season Five, he is cast in the [[independent film]] ''Shutter Speed'', but it is shut down before filming began in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]].<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One with Joey's Big Break|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= May 11, 1998|season=5|number=22}}</ref> He was also fired from a [[Burger King]] commercial. He filmed a role in a ''[[Law & Order]]'' episode that was cut from the completed episode—Joey was only "seen" as a corpse in a [[body bag]].
 
In seasons 6 and 7, he lands a starring role as Detective 'Mac' Machiavelli in a very short-lived, and very bad cop show called ''Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E'', which Chandler described as "one of the worst things ever... and not just on TV." Joey had high hopes for the series, however ''Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E'' was canceled halfway through its first season.<ref name="assistant">{{Cite episode|title=The One with Rachel's Assistant|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= October 26, 2000|season=7|number=4}}</ref>
 
In Season 7, Joey auditions for the role of Dr. Striker Ramoray, a new character on "Days of Our Lives" and Drake Ramoray's brother, but he doesn't get that role. Eventually, Joey's luck turns when he gets back his role as Dr. Drake Ramoray and is even nominated for an award for Best Returning Character, first as a character in a coma,<ref name="assistant"/> then revived through a brain transplant with another character, Jessica Lockhart (played by [[Susan Sarandon]]).<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One with Joey's New Brain|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= February 15, 2001|season=7|number=15}}</ref>
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Later in season 7, Joey lands a supporting role as "Tony", a soldier, in a major film opposite an [[Academy Awards|Oscar-nominated]] actor named Richard Crosby ([[Gary Oldman]]). The film is a [[World War I]] [[period piece|period film]] entitled ''Over There''.<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One with Ross and Monica's Wedding|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= May 17, 2001|season=7|number=24}}</ref> Later Chandler accompanies Joey to the premiere of the film.
 
Joey is also briefly employed at [[Central Perk]] as a [[waiter]]. Facing a dry spell in his career as an actor, Joey is persuaded by [[Gunther (Friends character)|Gunther]], the manager, to take a job serving [[coffee]]. At first, Joey tries to hide his new job from his friends, but they eventually figure it out. He does not like the work but, true to his nature, soon finds a way to use his position to meet and ingratiate himself to attractive women by giving them free food, although Gunther quickly puts a stop to it. Joey doesn't take his job very seriously and spends a lot of his working hours sitting and talking to his friends. Eventually, he is fired for closing the coffeehouse in the middle of the day to go to an [[audition]] while Gunther was running a personal errand. Rachel later persuades Gunther to give Joey back his job, but once Joey finds more steady acting jobs he eventually just stops showing up. His absence is barely noticed. In a later episode, Joey realizes he forgot to tell Gunther he quit; Gunther replies that he would have eventually fired him anyway.<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One with the Joke|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= January 4, 1996|season=6|number=12}}</ref>
 
Joey is also briefly a [[sperm donation|sperm donor]] for a medical experiment; at the end, the hospital would pay any donor $700. This was later mentioned when Monica goes to a sperm bank. Joey finds to his dismay that his sperm is not very popular.<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One with the Jam|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= October 5, 1996|season=3|number=3}}</ref>
 
Some of Joey's other jobs have included selling [[Christmas tree]]s, dressing as [[Santa Claus]] and as a [[Christmas elf]],<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The One with the Monkey|series=Friends|network=[[NBC]]|airdate= December 15, 1994|season=1|number=10}}</ref> working as a [[tour guide]] at the [[American Museum of Natural History|Museum of Natural History]] where Ross worked, offering [[perfume]] samples to customers at a [[department store]], and as a Roman warrior at [[Caesar's Palace]] in Las Vegas.
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Being a glutton when it comes to food, Joey is shown throughout the series to have the uncanny ability to eat enormous quantities of food. As he prides the Tribbiani family for their eating prowess ("We might not be [...] world leaders, but damn it, we can eat!"), he takes on Monica's challenge to eat a whole roast turkey virtually all by himself. In season 8, episode 9, Monica is unwilling to cook a whole roast turkey for Thanksgiving dinner as Rachel is pregnant, Chandler refuses to eat Thanksgiving food due to childhood traumas, Phoebe is a vegetarian, and dinner guest Will (played by [[Brad Pitt]]) is on a diet. Joey's love for Thanksgiving traditions, however, convinces Monica to roast the turkey only under the condition that Joey can eat the entire 19-pound bird in one sitting. When Monica sees him struggle, she says she is only kidding, but Joey perseveres and with a little help from Phoebe's maternity pants, he eventually not only consumes the entire turkey but has room for dessert afterward. A similar eating stunt happens in season 9, episode 5 when Joey is left alone at the dinner table in a restaurant after Phoebe's failed birthday dinner, and he is forced to eat six meals by himself. He finishes them, only to tuck them into the birthday cake afterward.
 
Joey is extremely promiscuous, often relying on his catchphrase pickup line "How ''you'' doin'?". He regularly sleeps with attractive women, but can never seem to get into a committed relationship – judging from a conversation he had with Chandler at the latter's bachelor party he seems to regard marriage as depressing and restrictive. He sleeps with many of the interns and extras on shows on which he works. He has apparently been sexually active for a very long time; he undid a 16-year-old girl's bra when he was nine, slept with his teacher in the seventh grade, and had a "wild spring break" when he was 13. In the episode "The One With Joey's Interview", he sleeps with the interviewer (played by [[Sasha Alexander]]) so what he said about not watching soap operas doesn't get published in ''[[Soap Opera Digest]]''.
 
Despite his promiscuous nature towards many women throughout the series, he is highly protective and old-fashioned when it comes to the relationships of his own sisters. While he does not seem to have a problem with his own lifestyle, he repeatedly makes sure his sisters don't go down the same path. When he finds out in season 3, episode 11 that Chandler drunkenly made out with his sister Mary Angela, he attempts to force the two into a relationship. Later, in season 8, episode 10, Joey initially attempts to force his younger sister Dina into marriage with her hapless boyfriend upon hearing she's pregnant, but they play into his emotional nature by saying they want to raise the baby independently.