David Schwimmer's Profile

Name: David Schwimmer

In the debut season (1994-95) of "Friends," David Schwimmer's performance as Ross, a sensitive, hopeless romantic, earned him an Emmy Award nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Born in Queens, New York and raised in Los Angeles, Schwimmer was first exposed to acting when he enrolled in a high school drama class on a whim. After he completed the course, an instructor encouraged him to attend a summer program in acting at Northwestern University in Chicago. After his graduation from high school he returned to Northwestern, where he received a B.S. degree in speech/theatre. In 1988 Schwimmer, along with seven other Northwestern graduates, founded Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company - an ensemble of actors, writers, directors and designers dedicated to creating vibrant new works for the American stage. Schwimmer says the company, which is now twenty members strong, "possesses a unique combination of talent, drawing its strength from training in the classics, acrobatics, gymnastics, dance and music." Schwimmer's stage acting credits with Lookingglass include "The Master and Margarita," "In the Eye of the Beholder," "West," "Of One Blood" and "The Odyssey." This Fall he will be bringing the company out to Los Angeles, where he will act with them in "The Arabian Nights." Theatre being a passion for him, he most recently starred on the Los Angeles stage as a devious screenwriter in the hit play "D Girl." His stage directing credits include "The Jungle," which he also adapted and which earned six Joseph Jefferson Awards, "The Serpent," and "Alice in Wonderland," which toured to the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. In 1993, Schwimmer made his debut as a television series regular on the comedy "Monty," with Henry Winkler. His other television credits include recurring roles on such series as "NYPD Blue," "L.A. Law" and "The Wonder Years." His feature film acting credits include "The Pallbearer," "Twenty Bucks," "Crossing the Bridge" and "Since You've Been Gone," which he also directed and which stars his pals from the Lookingglass Theatre Company. He recently completed filming "Apt Pupil," adapted from a Steven King novella, "Breast Men" for HBO, "Kissing a Fool," and Ivan Reitman's "6 Days, 7 Nights" with Harrison Ford. Schwimmer enjoys playing softball, basketball, ping-pong and poker with his buddies.