Can David Schwimmer leave Ross Geller behind?
He was “Friend’s” first breakout star. But for those who knew David Schwimmer way back when, that was no surprise. He always was serious, talented and driven to succeed. He founded a theater company when he was still a kid in college. So what’s he going do now that he’s a multimillionaire TV superstar without a show? Anything he wants.
David Schwimmer: “For some reason, there’s no fear. I’m not at all afraid. I’m more excited than anything. I mean, it’s just been a great run, you know. And I think all of us feel like it’s just– we’ve reached our time to move on. “
He played the geek who, somehow, got the girl. For David Schwimmer, playing the romantically-challenged Ross Geller wasn’t exactly a stretch. And the producers knew it. He was the first of the “Friends” to be cast.
Katie Couric: “Your character, Ross, was the first one really written as part of the ensemble with you in mind as a lovable neurotic geek. What did you say? Gee, I’m so flattered.”
Schwimmer: “Yeah, I was like, that’s me.”
Couric: “You had no problems with that?”
Schwimmer: “No. There was definitely part of me that identified with that aspect of the character, the neurotic kind of lovable loser. And if you see pictures of me in high school especially, you know, 12, 13, 14-years-old, I mean, you will completely understand why.”
Couric: “It’s hard for me to believe because I look at you now. You know, you look very GQ, you’ve got product in your hair, you look very stylish.”
Schwimmer: “Well, it’s about 35 surgeries. Like I had a baby face, like, you know, no hair on my chest or any– but for some reason I had like a little mustache. You know, I was like, this is great. Braces, head gear, mustache, overweight, you know. I was a lady killer.”
Couric: “You were a total stud.”
Schwimmer: “Even the camera guy’s laughing. Laugh away. Laugh it up.“
David might have found it funny, if he hadn’t been growing up in a mecca of physical perfection — Beverly Hills, Calif. His parents were both lawyers. His mom even handled Roseanne’s first divorce.
A detour into acting
After high school, David almost followed in the family’s footsteps until he enrolled in a summer acting program at Northwestern University outside Chicago.
Couric: “Do you ever regret not being a lawyer?”
Schwimmer: “Not for a moment.”
Couric: “You know, there are not many people out there who say, gee, I wish I had become a lawyer.”
Schwimmer: “Well, I got to play one on TV.”
That was in 1994, on a very short-lived comedy called “Monty,” starring another sitcom icon, Henry Winkler. But the six years David spent trying to make it big in show business were anything but happy days.
Couric: “You made a lot of attempts to break into Hollywood that were not so successful. I mean, at some point, were you like, ugh, you know, I just need to pack my bags and hit the road?”
Schwimmer: “No. I never thought about quitting. I needed to take a break every now and then. You know, when I came out after graduating from Northwestern, I thought, well, I’ll come out. In three months, I’ll be making millions of dollars as a movie star. Like I really believed that.”
