David Schwimmer talks stage acting and slacking off with marieclaire.co.uk
Known to millions as Ross from Friends, David Schwimmer, 40, makes his directorial debut with Run, Fat Boy, Run, a London-set comedy about a slacker (Simon Pegg) who decides to run the Marathon to win back his girl.
Run, Fat Boy, Run is your first feature as director. Does this mean no more acting?
I really don’t know. I’m really enjoying this. I think it goes in waves for me, where I’m really chomping at the bit to get back on stage or acting again?I don’t know. I guess we’ll see. I’m certainly not saying, ‘No more acting!’
Were you a fan of Simon Pegg’s before you worked with him?
I wasn’t familiar with Spaced, but when I worked with Simon on [2006 thriller] Big Nothing, I bought all the Spaced DVDs. Actually, he bought them for me ? I’m kidding!
Have you ever been a slacker like Simon’s character?
I’ve always been pretty energetic. I’m very goal oriented. My parents from a very young age raised my sister and I under a pressure to achieve. They’re both attorneys. So good marks, getting through university, there was a huge emphasis and pressure to do well and keep going.
Do you ever get nostalgic thinking about your time on Friends?
I guess I don’t really think about it. Friends, even though it was the longest single job I’ve had, still to me at the end of the day, when it was over it was a job. It was fantastic and I had a great time doing it. Those relationships, I’ll never forget and that time I’ll never forget. It was life-changing, in every way. I’ve done a couple of movies and two or three plays since then, and I don’t think about it much.
Run, Fat Boy, Run is released on 7 September
