David Schwimmer
DAVID SCHWIMMER
Date of Birth: November 2, 1966
How's this for Six Degrees of Separation—David Schwimmer's mother handled Roseanne's first divorce case. Both of his parents are lawyers and their son briefly entertained the idea of the more secure law or medical school route, but opted to pursue his first love and let the cards fall where they may.
Sounding like the actor's actor that he is, David says, "My first love is the stage....It's important for me to grow as an artist....My main interest in performing is to educate."
However, it was impossible for him to turn down a lucrative job like the one he landed as the nebbish, longing-for-love character (Ross Gellar) on TV's Friends. A graduate of Beverly Hills High, David left California for Chicago's Northwestern University, where he earned a degree in theater and speech before becoming a co-founder of Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company.
Some guest appearances on TV shows were mixed in with his live theater work until he hit the big time when the pilot for Friends was picked up and the show became a huge hit. He used the breaks in the show's filming to pursue other acting and directing jobs.
Since the show ended, David has been able to devote more time to his film career as well as his stage career, starring in the London West End play Some Girls in 2005, appearing in the 2012 action/adventure flick John Carter and voicing the character of Melman the giraffe in the Madagascar movies—Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted was released in June 2012.
He also has a promising career as a director, with his debut film Run, Fatboy, Run (2007) starring Simon Pegg earning him a British Independent Film nomination and his second film, Trust (2010), starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener earning him a nomination at the Deauville Film Festival.
In addition to his film career, David has returned to his television roots and appeared on several series, most prominently on American Crime Story (2015-2016) in which he starred as Robert Kardashian. This role earned David an Emmy Award nomination. He also had a starring role on the series Feed the Beast on AMC, which was cancelled after one season in 2016. He then joined the cast of the comedy Will & Grace when it came back for an eighth season in 2018.
His absence of several years on the big screen ended with the release of the drama The Laundromat (2019), starring Meryl Streep. The movie screened at the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival before opening in limited release on September 27, 2019, then making its October 2019 debut on Netflix.
David married British actress Zoe Buckman on June 4, 2010, and she gave birth to their first child, Cleo, on May 8, 2011. In April 2017, the couple announced they would be "taking some time apart." A reconciliation seems unlikely as David has been seen in the company of singer Natalie Imbruglia et actress Mili Avital.
Filmography (actor):
The Iceman (2013)
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) (voice)
John Carter (2012)
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) (voice)
Nothing But the Truth (2008)
Big Nothing (2006)
Madagascar (2005) (voice)
Duane Hopwood (2005)
Hotel (2001)
All the Rage (1999)
Apt Pupil (1998)
Six Days Seven Night (1998)
Kissing a Fool (1999)
The Pallbearer (1996)
Wolf (1994)
Twenty Bucks (1993)
The Vaiter (1993)
Crossing the Bridge (1992) Flight of the Intruder (1990)
Filmography (director):
Trust (2010)
Run Fatboy Run (2007)
His absence of several years on the big screen ended with the release of the drama The Laundromat (2019) to which have also been willing to participate many stars, we think of Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Sharon Stone or Antonio Banderas.