15 Things We Learned From Friends: The Reunion
11. David Schwimmer Had To Be Convinced To Play Ross
Though all of Friends' main cast members were on-the-rise actors when they won their parts in the show, David Schwimmer still had to be convinced to play Ross.
As explained by Crane and Kauffman, they'd met with Schwimmer for a different TV pilot the year prior and later felt he'd be perfect for Ross. However, Schwimmer had grown despondent with TV work and moved back to Chicago to focus on theatre.
Ultimate the co-creators had to beg Schwimmer to take the part, explaining that they'd essentially written Ross with him in mind and assuring him that his experience in TV would be different this time. Hell, they even sent him some fancy gift baskets to sweeten the deal.
And like that, Friends got its first main cast member locked down.