David Schwimmer On Playing The Anti-Ross In Band Of Brothers
What do you do if you want to escape international sitcom stardom? If you’re David Schwimmer, you join the US Army.
At the dawn of the 21st century, few people were globally famous in the same way David Schwimmer was. As the actor recalls, “It was insane being so well known. Friends had been a hit everywhere – not just North America and Europe. Wherever I went on vacation, people would be shouting out ‘Ross!’ and wanting autographs and photos. To be honest, the fans couldn’t have been nicer but to be so well known for one particular thing is quite daunting. You begin to question where you end and the character begins.”
Although Friends didn’t come off air until 2004, Schwimmer had been looking for different things to do since the mid-1990s. Supporting roles in Six Days Seven Nights and Apt Pupil, the part of a Jewish partisan in the TV movie Uprising – anything to distance himself from the world’s most famous palaeontologist seemed fair game. Then along came Band Of Brothers, the follow-up series to Saving Private Ryan produced by that film’s director, Steven Spielberg, and his leading man, Tom Hanks.
The biggest television event in a very long time, Schwimmer was as excited about the project as he was about the part he landed. “Herbert Sobel was the lieutenant placed in charge of Easy Company during basic training. A generous person might call him strict; others have described him as a martinet. Either way, he earned the ire of the men under him.” So, not a lot like Ross then? “No! I think it’s fair to say he was the Anti-Ross.”
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