Matt LeBlanc has been on the verge of a "nervous breakdown."

He explained: "For years and years, I barely left the house. I was burnt out. I wanted to not have a schedule, not be somewhere. I was in a position to do that. My agent was bummed.

"Most actors call their agents and say, 'What's going on?' I'd call mine and say, 'Please lose my number for a few years.' It was a very dark time. I almost had a nervous breakdown."

The 48-year-old actor believes he started to lose himself after his 12-year-old daughter Marina began to experience seizures at eight months old due to, what doctors thought was, a form of dysplasia.

He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "My daughter was diagnosed with a problem with her head. It was a very dark period. But I got through it. Don't they say what doesn't kill us makes us stronger?"

But that wasn't the only thing to knock Matt off his path as he also had to deal with the breakdown of his marriage to British model Melissa McKnight after rumours of infidelity began to circulate.

However, despite spending over a half a decade away from the limelight, this year looks set to be brighter for Matt as he's just been announced as the new co-host for the revamped 'Top Gear'.