David Schwimmer has voiced his opinion on a question that's sparked much debate among Friends fans! As Entertainment Tonight shares, Schwimmer appeared on Monday's episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he shared if he thinks "Ross" and "Rachel" were actually "on a break."
Schwimmer says fans "are so passionately divided"
Schwimmer's character, "Ross Geller", is in an on-again, off-again relationship with Jennifer Aniston's character, "Rachel Green" on Friends. That's why in season 3, "Ross" decides to sleep with copy girl "Chloe," because according to him, he and "Rachel" were "on a break."
"People are so passionately divided about whether or not they were on a break," he said. For Schwimmer though, there's no doubt in his mind what the answer is— and it turns out, he agrees with his character! "It's not even a question," he stated. "They were on a break."
Schwimmer turned down the role of "Ross" on Friends at first
Schwimmer almost missed out on playing the iconic role of "Ross," seeing as he initially turned down the show! "I had a miserable experience on my first job as a series regular just before Friends, about a year and a half before. Luckily, that show, we only made 12 episodes and then it was canceled," he shared.
"But I felt like... I was not invited to play, my ideas were not interesting or listened to. Basically I felt like a prop. Just kinda shut up and say the line," he explained.
"When you sign up for a show, you're committing to five or six years of your life. And, at that point, I thought, 'This is horrible. I feel like it's a prison sentence.' It just wasn't fun. So when that show was canceled, thank goodness, I was like, 'I'm never doing another sitcom.'"
Schwimmer found out character was created for him
Schwimmer was involved in the Chicago theatre scene when he received the initial call about Friends, which he swiftly rejected. That's when he found out Jim Burrows would be directing. "He was going to direct the pilot of Friends, which he did, and he said, 'You gotta come out and meet everyone.' And I was like, 'I can't say no to this guy, he's a legend,'" Schwimmer shared.
"So I went and that's when [creators] Marta [Kauffman] and David [Crane] told me that they had written Ross with my voice in mind," he said. "And I was like, 'What are you talking about?' They reminded me [that] I had auditioned for them a year before. They had written a show about six New Yorkers living in the same apartment building called Couples."
Schwimmer talks Friends reunion postponement
Schwimmer said that he was on board with the show after finding out that "Ross" had been written with him in consideration! "And then a year or more later they created Friends. And so when I heard that they wrote this part with me in mind, I was like, 'OK. Yeah. Let's do this.'" he told Fallon. "It's the biggest compliment ever."
He also talked about the long-awaited Friends HBO Max reunion special, which was announced back in February but has been delayed due to the coronavirus. However, it's likely going to happen this summer! "It's unscripted. It's basically a really fun interview and then some other surprise bits," Schwimmer said of the special.
"It's supposed to happen maybe in August, the middle of August, but honestly we're going to wait and see another week or two if we all determine it's really safe enough to do," he shared. "And if not we'll wait until it's safe." Hopefully things will be safe enough for the special to be filmed in the near future, as Friends fans are eager to see their favourite cast reunite!
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He said he was aware of the lack of diversity on the show
