Proof Joey from Friends Was Never Dumb: He Outsmarted Sherlock

Joey, played by Matt LeBlanc, is the first one to figure out Monica and Chandler's secret. He is the only one who knew how to fix the radiator that one time.

He is quick to remember how to treat a jellyfish sting. Not bad for a guy who never went to college, huh?

As it turns out, Joey may be so smart thanks to Matt LeBlanc's naturally witty personality. Even Sherlock himself is no match for him!

Back in 2018, Matt LeBlanc and Benedict Cumberbatch dropped by The Graham Norton Show to talk about their respective projects.

Benedict was just telling a story about the time he was going to the cafe and didn't want someone to follow him.

He paused to make a snarky remark about "cafe" being a French word for "coffee house" and then quickly apologized for it to Matt, saying that he knew that "not all Americans are stupid" and that he was just trying to get "a cheap laugh" from the audience (which he got quite a few of).

You'd think that would put LeBlanc in an awkward position, right?

Not really! After a second of hesitation, he put on Joey's signature blank expression and simply went, "I wasn't listening, sorry," causing the crowd to lose it. Joey: 1, Sherlock: 0!

This exemplifies everything that is great about LeBlanc's sense of humor and approach to acting. Just like his character, Matt is not just traditionally intelligent (though he is), but he is also smart in ways that most people wouldn't even think of (and we absolutely adore him for that).

Imagine if someone else had ended up playing Joey on the show.

Matt would never have added his own layer to the character, and Joey would just be what he was originally supposed to be – a dumb playboy and nothing more.

Kudos to the Friends creators for making such a great casting decision and to Matt LeBlanc for adding dimension to Joey Tribbiani!