MATT LEBLANC

The former Friends star, 49, becomes a Man With a Plan on his new CBS sitcom, premiering Oct. 24. He plays a contractor who takes over parenting duties when his wife (Liza Snyder) goes back to work after 13 years of being a stay-at-home mom.

What was the appeal of

Man With a Plan? Funny characters and relatable stories. We’re telling family stories. It’s like doing a play every week. It’s really fun. When you were filming

Friends, did you realize how special that was? Yeah, that’ll never happen again. Nothing will be like Friends was.

Friends was really out of the ordinary in the way people responded to it, the way that that group of actors all connected, as did its writers. It was like the stars all aligned for that show. You’re returning to host another season of BBC’s

Top Gear in 2017. When did your love affair with cars begin? I started riding motorcycles when I was 8. I probably have 30 motorcycles and dirt bikes and I’ve got a bunch of cars. It’s just something I’ve always been into. After I got hired on

Top Gear, my ex-wife said, “Well, all those car magazine subscriptions I used to give you s--about finally paid off.” You’ve been in the public eye for a long time. Is there anything about you that would surprise us? Probably lots of things. There probably are more lies that are printed about me than facts, as with every celebrity. I’m probably a better cook than you think. When you have kids, you tend to learn how to cook real fast.