David Schwimmer Net Worth

David Schwimmer's Quotes

• To be perfectly honest, I feel I have a duty to use my celebrity status in a positive way. Most rape victims are women, so the bulk of the discussion is loaded towards women. I thought I could find a way to approach the subject of rape in such a way that men are going to respond to it. My most devastating moment was when a 13-year-old girl told me her story. At that moment, I realized just how important this center really is. Nothing else had ever made me connect with reality like that.
• [on Friends (1994)] The miracle is the casting. Having been on the other side of it now in terms of directing and producing, to find one magical actor who is just right for the role is difficult enough, but to find six and then to have them actually have chemistry with each other is just kind of a miracle. I looked at the five of them. I watched their work and thought, Everyone is just so talented and perfect for their character. And they grew into their characters and enriched them and deepened them.
• I don't think I responded very well to the sudden celebrity, the sudden fame, and the loss of privacy. There were several moments that were quite traumatic for me. I remember just going to the airport and walking to my gate, when I heard bloodcurdling screams and I thought someone was being killed. Before I knew it, a group of girls was running at me and literally dragging me and wouldn't let me go.
• [on David Crane, Marta Kauffman and other writers on Friends (1994)] They really invited our ideas. They created an atmosphere in which we could play and fail and pitch stuff. And because of that it wasn't about any individual - it was about all of us trying to come up with the funniest and the best and the most emotional material we could. It was hands down the best creative experience I've had professionally, as an actor - a huge high, and it spoils you for life.
• [on being the first member of the Friends (1994) cast to receive film offers] I said to the group, "Here's the deal. I'm being advised to ask for more money, but I think - instead of that - we should all go in together... use this opportunity to talk openly about the six of us being paid the same. I don't want to come to work feeling that there's going to be any kind of resentment from anyone else in the cast down the line". I thought it was significant for us to become a mini-union.

Interesting Facts about David Schwimmer

1. Born on his mother's birthday.
2. Graduated from Northwestern University. His classmate was his friend, Roger Kumble.
3. Along with best friend & fellow actor David Catlin, he helped found the Looking Glass Theater Company, based in Chicago, Illinois.
4. Before Friends (1994) Schwimmer competed against high-school friend Jonathan Silverman and actor Jon Cryer for a role in the TV pilot Couples (1994). Silverman won the role opposite Helen Slater, but ABC passed on the show. The producers later reconceived the show for singles and sold it to NBC as Friends (1994) in which Schwimmer was the first actor to be cast.
5. Called up a London talk show to deny false claims that cast members of Friends (1994) were demanding $1,000,000 each per episode. [April 2000]
6. Has worked extensively on the stage both as actor and director.
7. Is on the board of directors of the Rape Foundation for the Rape Treatment Center of Santa Monica.
8. Split up from Mili Avital in November 2001.
9. Member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity.
10. January 2003 - Premiered his play "Turnaround" at the 99-seat West Hollywood Coast theater. All of his "Friends" were in attendance.
11. He graduated Beverly Hills High School in 1984 and performed in stage productions there under the direction of John Ingle.
12. Went to Beverly Hills High School, the same high school as Logan Lerman, Angelina Jolie, Michael Klesic, Nicolas Cage, Lenny Kravitz, Jonathan Silverman, Gina Gershon, Rhonda Fleming, Jackie Cooper, Rob Reiner, Antonio Sabato Jr., Pauly Shore, Michael Tolkin, Betty White, Corbin Bernsen, Elizabeth Daily, Albert Brooks and Crispin Glover.
13. Both his parents, Arlene Coleman-Schwimmer and Arthur Schwimmer, had small parts in Since You've Been Gone (1998), which he directed.
14. David once said in an interview, he would like to become a public school teacher after Friends (1994) ended.
15. Has an older sister, Ellie Schwimmer.
16. Playing "Michael" in The Wonder Years (1988), he rides a 500cc Triumph Daytona motorcycle. The same motorcycle, also seen in other episodes, is also seen mounted on the back of his character's Volkswagen van.
17. Had to miss Lisa Kudrow's wedding in Los Angeles due to filming The Pallbearer (1996) in New York.
18. Turned down Will Smith's role in Men in Black (1997).
19. Allergic to cats.
20. He was awarded the 1991 Joseph Jefferson Award Citation for Director - Play for directing a stage adaptation of "The Jungle" at the Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois.