Matt LeBlanc, with his iconic portrayal of Joey Tribbiani on Friends, became a household name. But before the iconic sitcom, he had a role in a Married With Children spin-off called Top of the Heap that many might not be aware of. He played Vinnie Verducci, a character who always found himself in comedic situations.
But that’s not all in one episode; he nearly made out with Christina Applegate, who played Kelly Bundy on the show. However, the duo’s connection was not limited to this series, and they reunited years later in the hit sitcom Friends when she played Rachel’s sister Amy.
Matt LeBlanc and Christina Applegate Go Way Back
There were three spin-offs produced based on the original Married With Children and in that Top of the Heap was the most successful. The plot centered around two characters, Charlie Verducci (Joseph Bologna) and his son Vinnie (Matt LeBlanc). And followed Charlie’s plan for Vinnie to marry into a wealthy family. While Top of the Head focused on the father-son duo breaking into high society, it also featured Christina Applegate in a cameo appearance as Kelly Bundy.
She appeared in the show twice, and with the recently resurfaced post on X, it’s safe to say that Joey and Amy have a lot of history between them. Joey hated Amy on the sitcom Friends but in the said video, the story seems quite different. The video snippet comes as a shock to many who were not aware that Matt LeBlanc was a part of this project. They took the same curiosity to X and shared their confusion on Hollywood Horror Museum’s post.
Wow, I did not know this.
— TA (@TravoltaMolta) May 5, 2024
Joey and Rachel's sister
— Marc (@GDoc2001) May 5, 2024
I mean…you know that's Christina Applegate right?
— Paeris Whitlow (@PaerisWhitlow) May 5, 2024
This we never heard of
— Hollywood Horror Museum (@horrormuseum) May 6, 2024
She was just a special guest star on that one episode
— Hollywood Horror Museum (@horrormuseum) May 5, 2024
Christina Applegate appeared on Friends in two episodes in the 9th and 10th seasons, namely The One with Rachel’s Other Sister and The One Where Rachel’s Sister Babysits. Her appearance on the sitcom was limited, but she made sure to leave a long-lasting impact. Aside from her hilarious interactions and fights with Rachel, she also got on Joey’s nerves, which further tickled the funny bones of the audience.
Christina Applegate Disclosed Her Favorite Friends Line
From Joey’s “How You Doin?” to Monica’s “I Know,” fans have their own favorite line from the sitcom. But not just the fans; even Christina Applegate has her own favorite line from the sitcom that too is from a very memorable and hilarious episode. In The One With Rachel’s Other Sister, Amy barges into Rachel’s apartment, asking for a hair straightener to go meet her married boyfriend.
But when his wife comes back to town, Rachel invites her to Monica’s to celebrate Thanksgiving together. The evening was then filled with Amy constantly forgetting Emma’s name and her fighting over who’s going to get the baby’s custody. But in that episode, the line that sticks out to Applegate was (via EW):
Why does she keep making that noise?
The line refers to Phoebe when Amy mixes up her name with Emma’s (Rachel’s daughter). This hilarious back and forth was something that the audience still remembers to this date. But it almost didn’t happen. Applegate revealed that it was “written as a rewrite in front of the audience.”
You can stream all seasons of Friends on Max.
