When David Schwimmer Almost Refused the Role of Ross on 'Friends': 'Didn't Want to Do Any Television'
The sitcom Friends has certainly become an instant household favorite because of its witty nature and incredible storylines. More importantly, the characters portrayed by the gifted actors make the show a true success. There was however, once a time when David Schwimmer wanted to walk away from playing the iconic role of Ross on the hit sitcom.
Saul Austerlitz's book provided the Friends fandom with an in-depth view of what went on behind the scenes of the show followed by testimonials from several actors. The book was titled Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era. Reports from this book mention how Schwimmer was very hesitant and also refused to sign up for his iconic role of Ross back in 1994. He even refused to look at the carefully crafted script that has now won several laurels.
The gifted minds behind the genesis of the said show, Marta Kauffman followed by David Crane initially sought Schwimmer out for another role on a show known as Couples. His performance in the pilot of the show is what made a strong and unfathomable impression on their minds. While deciding on the cast for Friends, the two knew that there was indeed no one better to play the charming, lovable and goofy Ross other than Schwimmer himself.
Austerlitz mentioned in the book how both Kauffman and Crane didn't even want Schwimmer to undergo an audition and had a strong intuition that he'd be a perfect fit for the role. "They were ready to offer him the role without even having to audition - a rare privilege for a young, untested actor," wrote the author of the book.
Although the creators of the show had complete faith and hope of getting Schwimmer to join their cast and crew, the Madagascar voice actor was very reluctant on pursuing the show and wasn't interested in appearing on television screens for shows any longer at the time. "Schwimmer did not want to do the show. More than that he did not want to do any more television at all," says Austerlitz.
The book further emphasized Schwimmer's disinterest to pour in all his efforts into the pilot of a show that seems to have potential, only for it to not make the cut. At that juncture of life, he wanted to instead focus on the Lookingglass - a theatre company based in Chicago. Due to this weighing on his mind, he didn't consent to read any more scripts for television shows.
However, after several desperate attempts made by his agent, Schwimmer finally agreed to read the script and gave the role a fair shot. A primary reason for his agreement was reportedly the fact that he felt the show was an 'ensemble series' - it didn't have one particular protagonist leading the show.
