David Schwimmer
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor, director, producer and comedian. He was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was 2. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts in theater and speech. After graduation, Schwimmer co-founded the Lookingglass Theatre Company. For much of the late 1980s, he lived in Los Angeles as...
ProfessionTV Actor
Date of Birth2 November 1966
CityAstoria, NY
I think it was really crucial that the actress was age appropriate. There are films, such as An Education, where that wasn't the case, and I think that really affects how you receive what you're watching.
At this age - I'm 44 - I think life's too short. I want it to mean something to me, if I'm going to spend that much time doing it.
I think I'm a very very nice director. Very supportive, very nurturing. I definitely try to challenge my actors but I think I'm very supportive.
I was a geek in high school.
With the success of the last three or so years, when a lot of people start treating you differently, there's a danger that you may start to think of yourself differently. You rely on your friends to say, 'Hey, wake up!
There is a danger, if you cast someone who is 18, 19 or 20 to play 14 or 15, that very subtly, almost unconsciously, the audience is, "Oh, this isn't so bad."
There are certain pressures and things that change your life to a degree that, in the cost benefit analysis that constantly goes on, sometimes makes you think, 'Maybe I should just leave.
You're only as good as the sum of your parts, and one person can't be a team.
I don't think I responded very well to the sudden celebrity, the sudden fame, and the loss of privacy.
If someone doesn't believe enough in your product to put money in to it, then you should rethink how good the product is.
And the thing is, every time you start a new show or do a new series, you're committing to another six years.
My parents from a very young age raised my sister and I under a pressure to achieve. Theyre both attorneys. So good marks, getting through university, there was a huge emphasis and pressure to do well and keep going.
If I were given a choice between two films and one was dark and explored depraved, troubled or sick aspects of our culture, I would always opt for that over the next romantic comedy.
I think the other honest attraction was that I just grew up loving watching TV and loving watching film, and there's so many directors and actors that I dreamed of working with, I just really wanted to take a crack at it and see if I could ever work with some of those.