When Stephen Colbert Was Jealous of His College Buddy David Schwimmer’s Hollywood Success

Long before David Schwimmer and Stephen Colbert tasted success in Hollywood life, they were pals going to Northwestern College together. The former Friends star, who appeared in the first season of American Crime Story playing Robert Kardashian in 2016, made a Tuesday night appearance on The Late Show to catch up with his old college friend. What followed was an adorable catch-up session between two friends as they looked back at their extensive history. Colbert even candidly admitted to his brief jealousy toward Schwimmer, per The Things.

Schwimmer and Stephen Colbert were not only studying the same course but were also in the same improv group. Colbert showed the audience an adorable throwback photo from their college days, even mocking Schwimmer's funny hairstyle from back in the day, per Entertainment Weekly.

Schwimmer revealed that he chose to pursue a career in show business rather than theater because of Colbert. “I could never keep up. Your mind is just so ridiculously fast,” Schwimmer said. “I was very grateful for being in that group with you, because I realized, ‘Oh, that’s why I can’t do that. I should go into acting, and not that."

Colbert responded to Schwimmer's compliments by acknowledging his jealousy of his early success in Hollywood. Back in Northwestern, Colbert was working at a restaurant. "I remember when you came in because you had already done something in Hollywood. And I was like really jealous. I'll never work if David Schwimmer has work."

Schwimmer joked that maybe that's why he used to taste something weird in his soup every time he walked in while Colbert was working. "I was wondering why my soup tasted just a little… a little Colbert," Schwimmer said. "You can't prove anything. It was a very deep bowl, though," Colbert retorted.

Schwimmer talked candidly about his early years in Hollywood as well. The actor had a difficult time until he found success on Friends. "I would get small recurring roles — three episodes here, four episodes there. Working that way, you never make enough money to quit waiting tables,” he shared.

The actor would eventually begin to score big roles, but behind the scenes, he remained unhappy. Monty was one of these roles on TV. After being rejected repeatedly for attempting to imbue the role with his creative ideas, Schwimmer began to feel like a prop on the program. 

In the end, everything came together since David got the Friends role without even having to audition for the role, producer Kevin Bright once told USA Today. "David Schwimmer we worked with before, and the writers had him in mind for the part of Ross. Lisa, Jennifer, Matthew, and Matt we cast from auditions. Courteney we originally wanted to play Rachel, and she insisted she wasn't Rachel but Monica. And she was right."