NEED TO KNOW
Joey Lawrence is connecting the dots between a few beloved ’90s shows.
Sitting down on the June 9 episode of the Magical Rewind podcast, the 49-year-old actor recounted some of his beloved characters and projects from the 1990s. Lawrence also shed light on two popular on-screen Joeys of the age, claiming his Blossom character, Joey Russo, inspired Friends’ Joey Tribbiani.
“Joey Russo on the Blossom show was so successful that when they were creating Friends, they wanted a 25-year-old version of that,” Lawrence recalled.
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Blossom’s Joey Russo was a middle child, a teen jock and a hit with girls, though he could be funny and smart, too. His catchphrase, “Whoa!” was for any and all situations — much like Joey Tribbiani’s “How you doin?”
Lawrence added that he thought the original Friends character wasn’t initially named Joey, but because his Blossom character was so popular with audiences, ultimately the Friends character became Joey Tribbiani.
Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey Tribbiani for the show’s 10 seasons, had a challenging “tightrope” to walk, Lawrence said — his character was a womanizer of sorts, but still had to maintain this air of innocence and likability.
“All I remember is that Matt LeBlanc was sent to the Blossom stage and he would sit up in the audience with a yellow notepad and take notes on how I portrayed Joey Russo, so that he could bring innocence to Joey Tribbiani,” Lawrence said. “So he could get away with his womanizing.”
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In addition to Blossom, which ran for five seasons between 1990 and 1995, Lawrence also starred in sitcoms Brotherly Love and Melissa & Joey, as well as 1999’s Horse Sense.
