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After a painstakingly long wait, WarnerMedia has finally released the Friends Reunion one-off special. The 1-hour 44-minute Late-Night-show-styled special episode revealed a lot of never-before-seen, or said, information on the six lead actors’ casting process.
Initially, “Friends” creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman spoke about the behind-the-scenes work that went into casting all six original actors.
But it seems that signing the first actor for the comedy series, David Schwimmer, required strenuous effort from the producers, as the star had given up on playing small-screen roles.
Before "Friends," David Schwimmer had given up acting for television
Crane and Kauffman got candid on the “really hard” casting process for "Friends" and confessed that it was much more tiresome than they expected. Kauffman’s response sums it up best:
“We saw approximately a gazillion people”
Crane recalled the incident in trying to bring David Schwimmer on board and said:
“Tried to get David, David has quit television. He’s had a miserable experience doing another show, he’s moved back to Chicago to just do theatre. And we had to beg him and besiege him, “We wrote this for you!”
Kauffman also recollected on the moment:
“I believe we sent him gift baskets.”
Crane didn’t remember sending over a gift basket. Although it seems that a script of “Friends” was sent to the star in an attempt to lure him as well.
Also read: How old was Matt LeBlanc when Friends started? Here’s the real age of Joey Tribbiani
“We assured him that whatever his past experience was, this was going to be a different promise and he...he came on board. Alright, we got one.”
For the uninitiated, David Schwimmer began his acting career by performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. The actor also helped found the Tony Award-winning Lookingglass Theater Company.
Prior to his casting in NBC’s hit sitcom, David Schwimmer played roles in shows like “NYPD Blue” and “L.A. Law,” which didn’t help take off his acting career. The star, though, became a household name after potraying Ross Geller in the global phenomenon that was Friends.
Friends: The Reunion is currently available to stream on HBO Max in the U.S. Fans from other parts of the worls can tune in via HBO Go, Binge, Zee5 and more.
