20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About Friends
2. David Schwimmer Directed Ten Episodes
Like all his fellow cast members, David Schwimmer found Friends to be a dream job for the most part, but he has spoken of his occasional frustration at being confined to the same role for so long instead of having the opportunity to challenge himself with something different. After Schwimmer graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago, he founded the Lookingglass Theatre Company with a group of friends in 1988 and developed a taste for directing.
However, when Friends became a hit he found himself unable to pursue this passion, but fortunately he was given the opportunity to learn more about the craft by directing some of the episodes himself. Schwimmer directed his first episode in Season 6 and went on to direct ten in total, even assuming directing duties for a couple of episodes of short-lived spinoff Joey.
He also has film credits to his name in the shape of Trust and Run, Fatboy, Run, and you can expect to see more from him in the future:
I love the collaborative nature of directing. The vision is coming from you, but youre incorporating talents and ideas from all these people. As an actor theres a great freedom, but the experience is much more isolated.