Matt Battaglia Matteo Martin " Matt " Battaglia ( born September 25 , 1965 ) is an American actor and former American football player . Background and football . Battaglia , one of four siblings , was born in Tallahassee , Florida and is of half Italian and half German / Dutch heritage . He has an older sister , Mary Ann Battaglia Pedersen , an older sister whose married name is Theresa Battaglia Nossett and an older brother Vince Battaglia , who served 3 tours in the Iraqi and Afghanistan Wars . When Battaglia was three years old , his family moved north from Tallahassee , Florida and he grew up in the towns of Tucker , Georgia and Lithonia , Georgia , two suburbs east of Atlanta . He attended Idlewood Elementary in Tucker , Georgia and then in 1977 , his family moved 15 miles southeast and he attended Lithonia High School . His family currently resides in Roswell , Georgia . As a high school athlete , Battaglia served as team captain for his school ' s wrestling and football teams . In wrestling he placed second in the AAU ' s Southeastern States Championship , qualifying him to compete in the National AAU Tournament . But a football scholarship led him to the University of Louisville , where he became an All - America n and All - South middle linebacker , leading the nation in tackles both his junior and senior seasons with 153 and 166 tackles respectively . He averaged 15 tackles per game in both his junior and senior seasons . Battaglia also broke former All - Pro Otis Wilson ' s college tackling record . He was team captain his junior and senior year and was voted Most Valuable Player by his teammates and coaches . Battaglia went on to play in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles . Two years later , his career ended abruptly after a broken bone was discovered in his neck . He returned to school , graduating from the University of Louisville with a degree in business and an emphasis in finance . In September 2006 , he was named to the All - time University of Louisville team , with such football greats as Johnny Unitas , Mark Clayton , Tom Jackson , Deion Branch , Joe Jacoby , Dwayne Woodruff and Frank Minnifield . Acting & Producing . Battaglia is an Emmy winning producer , has co - produced a two time Golden Globe nominated film and has been an actor in over 90 films , network pilots and television shows . In 2011 , Battaglia was Executive Producer of the television show " Last Shot with Judge Gunn " , which he sold straight into syndication with 130 episodes in season one . He was nominated and won the Emmy in June 2012 as Executive Producer for its first season on the air . The show also won an Emmy for Outstanding Legal / Courtroom Drama . It was both his and the show ' s first nomination and first win . Battaglia served as Co - producer on the two time Golden Globe - nominated film " Brothers " , starring Tobey Maguire , Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal . The film is a remake of the 2004 Danish film by Susanne Bier . The remake was directed by six - time Academy Award nominee Jim Sheridan , from a script written by David Benioff , and was released worldwide on December 4 , 2009 by Lionsgate . Battaglia was also a co - executive producer on the 2009 horror film " Kill Theory " , directed by Chris Moore . Battaglia formed Matt Battaglia Productions to produce feature films and television shows . His first acquisition was in 2008 for the life rights to " The Marlboro Marine " , which is currently in development as a documentary . He continued with optioning some best selling books including the national bestseller " Bad Monkeys " by Matt Ruff and " Or I ' ll Dress You in Mourning " by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre . Mourning was adapted into a screenplay by screenwriters Brian Klugman & Lee Sternthal . " Bad Monkeys " is currently set up at Fox Studios and a script has been completed by writer Jeff Eastin , most known for creating " White Collar " . In 2011 , he was also Executive Producer of the documentary " Do As You Likey " . As a feature film actor , Battaglia has acted in the Marvel Comics " Thor " , Sony Pictures action thriller " Half Past Dead " with Steven Seagal , Morris Chestnut and rap artist Ja Rule . He replaced Jean - Claude Van Damme in the lead role of Luc Deveraux in the action movies " " and " " . He has also acted in " Kiss of a Stranger " , " Pendulum " and the direct - to - video film " Raven " . In television , Battaglia is known for his episode of NBC ' s hit sitcom " Friends " ( playing the fireman boyfriend of Lisa Kudrow ' s character ) . He also had the recurring role of Drew Boyd in " Queer As Folk " . Other notable guest appearances include " The Mentalist " , " The Client List " , " Longmire " in 2012 , two episodes on " 24 " , two episodes of HBO ' s " Big Love " , and appearances in shows such as " Shark " , " " , " Bones " , " Charmed " , " JAG " Sabrina The Teenage Witch " and " " . Battaglia currently serves on the board of advisors for the G . I . Film Festival , which honors the successes and sacrifices of US soldiers through the medium of film . Personal life . Battaglia married Tina Frazier in 2006 . The couple has two children , Blaize Christian Battaglia and Paxton Rose Battaglia . He designed and built a 4 , 200 square foot house for his family in the Hollywood Hills in 2006 , with jet liner views from downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific ocean . He sold the house in 2012 . On July 3 , 2005 , Battaglia saved the life of two teenagers who were drowning off the coast of Charleston , South Carolina . Battaglia , who was surfing solo at the time , looked over his shoulder to catch a wave and saw two heads bobbing in the water in the distance . He decided to investigate further to see if the swimmers were okay . As it turns out , the two boys had swum out away from the shore to try and reach a floating buoy several hundred feet from shore and were caught in a rip tide . Battaglia paddled to each of them and simultaneously brought them both back safely to shore . Philanthropy . As a television producer and philanthropist , Battaglia co - founded with Tommy and Chris Thieneman " The Mint Jubilee " in 1995 , an enormous charity event which in its first ten years raised over $ 4 million for cancer patients and has provided financial resources to scientists , cancer centers and hospitals committed to finding cures and controls for cancer . This non - profit organization was created by Battaglia in memory of his mother Nancy Van Cleve Battaglia , who died of cancer in 1993 . The black tie gala takes place in Louisville , Kentucky the night before the Kentucky Derby . Battaglia helped to create , develop , grow and brand the organization into becoming one of the most prestigious charity events in the world , becoming a world class event attracting high profile celebrities , entertainers and dignitaries from around the globe . The Mint Jubilee has been televised worldwide in over 130 countries and over 200 million homes . Past celebrities have included Vince Vaughn , Jim Caviezel , Kid Rock , Kate Capshaw , Jessica Capshaw , Felicity Huffman , Shannon Elizabeth , Chloë Sevigny , Uncle Kracker , Leslie Bibb , Prince Albert of Monaco , Bob Costas , Evander Holyfield , Wendie Malick , poker champion Phil Hellmuth and Thora Birch .