David Schwimmer Almost Banned His Friends Offer After A Traumatic Hollywood Experience On A Differen
Highlights
- David Schwimmer struggled financially at the start of his career, waiting tables and taking on small acting roles.
- Schwimmer had reservations about accepting the role of Ross on Friends due to a negative experience on a previous TV show.
- Schwimmer was the only choice for the role of Ross and did not have to audition, but initially had concerns about the collaborative nature of the show.
In 1994, David Schwimmer's career completely changed. The actor landed the role of Ross on Friends, and success followed. The sitcom lasted ten seasons but in truth, could've gone on for many more seasons.
In the following, we're going to take a closer look at Schwimmer's life before Friends, and what his life was like. During the bulk of his 20s, Schwimmer was balancing two jobs, trying to make his Hollywood career work. However, there were struggles along the way including a traumatizing experience on the set of Monty.
This resulted in Schwimmer wanted to neglect sitcoms altogether. Schwimmer was the only choice as Ross, but he felt skeptical about accepting the offer. Let's take a look at how the situation unfolded, and why the Friends star finally decided to agree. In truth, we can't picture any other actor in the pace of Ross.
David Schwimmer Was A Waiter At The Start Of His Career And Was Banking Off Recurring Cameos
David Schwimmer is worth a fortune nowadays and that'll continue to hold true given the backend profits from Friends alone. However, at the start of his career in Hollywood that was far from the case. During the majority of his 20s, Schwimmer was waiting on tables. He'd take acting jobs sporadically, which were usually recurring guest spots.
He tells the Financial Times, "I would get small recurring roles — three episodes here, four episodes there. Working that way, you never make enough money to quit waiting tables.”
At the age of 27 way back in 1994, David Schwimmer's career changed forever as he landed the altering role on Friends. In the same interview, the actor still remembers the specific moment his life changed, and it all took place at a Starbucks.
“I realized instinctively not to take him up on it," Schwimmer reveals after he was advised to cut the line. "There were six other people in front of me and I knew they would look at me and think I was a dick. I worked really hard, against a lot of forces, to retain some normalcy.”
Despite the success and fame, the opportunity almost vanished. Schwimmer was the last cast member to join Friends, and he was very indecisive at the start given his experience.
David Schwimmer Wanted To Avoid Sitcoms After Feeling Like A Prop On The Show, Monty
Friends could have looked very different. Others were considered for certain roles, including Courteney Cox taking on the part of Rachel. As for David Schwimmer, he was always the only candidate to play Ross, but the actor struggled with the decision at the start.
According to director James Burrows, that would all stem from Schwimmer's experience in the TV show, Monty. David tried using his creative output during the show, but was basically shut down by the crew. This caused Schwimmer to look elsewhere for work outside of sitcoms.
Burrows revealed, "He was concerned that the show wasn't going to be collaborative, and his ideas wouldn't be welcome. We assured him that this experience would be different and it would be an ensemble."
David stated that he felt like a prop during his time on the series, and was basically told to just say his lines. Thankfully, he reconsidered for Friends and along the way, the actor gave a lot of his own creative output as it pertains to Ross and the others as well, producing episodes behind the scenes.
David Schwimmer Didn't Have To Audition For His Role On Friends
The search for the cast of Friends was not an easy one. According to word behind the scenes, 500 auditions took place in order to find the main cast... As for David Schwimmer, well he was the first and only choice. In fact, the actor was the only one of the main cast that didn't audition given the experience he already had with those behind the scenes.
"David Schwimmer we worked with before, and the writers had him in mind for the part of Ross. Lisa and Jennifer and Matthew and Matt we cast from auditions. Courteney we originally wanted to play Rachel, and she insisted she wasn't Rachel but Monica. And she was right."
Schwimmer thrived in the role and his career instantly changed. David was among the first to receive offers from other Hollywood film sets, particularly movies. David was even considered for Men in Black at the start - no doubt such a role in a franchise would've enhanced David's career that much more. The actor decided to take on work behind the camera as well after his time on Friends. He enjoyed continued success following the sitcom's epic decade long run.
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