October 31, 2001
With America's freedom threatened by the acts of Osama bin Laden, it's an appropriate time to look back in history to the reign of one of the most evil men of the 20th Century -- Adolph Hitler. "Friends" star DAVID SCHWIMMER does just that in the NBC mini-series "Uprising," which also stars LEELEE SOBIESKI, JON VOIGHT, HANK AZARIA and DONALD SUTHERLAND. Airing November 4 and 5, "Uprising" is the heroic story of Jewish resistance fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto battling the Nazis for their lives during WWII.
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT: Why do you think it's important to tell the story of "Uprising" now?
DAVID SCHWIMMER: There's not a "now" in terms of when this story should be told. We're not riding a wave or anything. In my opinion, there should be a story about the Holocaust told every year, if not every month. I think there's a wealth of information and so many stories about the Holocaust. This is just one story of resistance. There are many other stories of resistance in the Holocaust and in different ghettoes. This was the one that JON AVNET felt most connected to.
ET: In addition to "Friends," you did "Band of Brothers" and this show. Are you making a real conscious effort to stop being Ross?
DAVID: No. I love playing that character. And I love doing that show. But I also like to think I'm trying to grow as an actor and as a person. I'm more interested in stories in general that have something to say, a moral, stories that illuminate, that educate. I'm more and more drawn to those kinds of stories and want to help tell those stories. Both "Band of Brothers" and this project -- I don't know if Jon knows this -- I would have played any part just to be able to help tell those stories. That's the direction I'm going in personally.
ET: Can you share one scene or moment from the movie that resonated with you, where you said, "Yes, this is why I know I did this movie?"
DAVID: The first day of work, when I arrived on the set and saw all the extras, suddenly I'm in this world. Then the arm band goes on -- I didn't have to do any more work. It's just there. There was no question in my mind that, 60 years, before that would have been me. I would have been taken.
ET: Did you talk to survivors, and what was that like?
DAVID: Yeah, each story is emotional. What I really liked was how they kept hope alive, and how they found the light in all of this -- whether it was through humor or love -- each person's personal way of keeping his or her dignity and hope and spirit. I've been asked how I feel about all this, because the fact of the matter is they lost. If you're talking about winning and losing as loss of life, then yes they lost. The majority was slaughtered in the Warsaw ghetto. But if you can choose the way you die, I don't see it as a loss. That to me is a victory and what this story is about.
ET: Do you think you're presence from "Friends" will bring in a larger audience?
DAVID: I hope so. I was so passionate about doing this project, I didn't care what form it took. So when Jon said it was going to be on television, I was like, "Great," because chances are, more people are going to see it on tv than at the box office.
ET: What did you learn about your craft from this mini-series?
DAVID: I think the most difficult part for me was that I felt this heavy load on my shoulders -- the responsibility of playing a person who lived through it and is, unfortunately, no longer alive for me to talk to. I think the biggest challenge was trying to find a way for me to own the character, to make him human without being able to meet him, and still be true to everything I had read about him, including his autobiography.
One of the problems in my character's autobiography was that it was extremely impersonal. It was very professional in that he kept a distance, but he didn't really talk about his feelings the way we would today. He was a leader, an intellectual, a teacher, and an organizer of students. His ideology came first before his feelings, so that was the difficult part for me -- knowing all that and trying to be true to his memory.
ET: Were there Holocaust victims in your family? Was that part of the appeal of this for you?
DAVID: Just being Jewish is a sense of moral obligation to tell the stories that have come out of the Holocaust, because I don't think we can tell enough of them. For future generations, it is a necessity. All over the world, there are people being killed because of race or religion. This is just one story. I think the more stories we tell of this kind of event and the inhumanity of it, hopefully, people will draw parallels to what's happening today in other parts of the world.
ET: Are you actively Jewish?
DAVID: Yes. I went to Hebrew school all the way through high school. I was Bar Mitzvahed, I was confirmed. You name it, I did!
ET: How did you chill out on the set when things got really emotional?
DAVID: That's a great question. At times, it was very emotional. After a day's work, the cast would get together. I bought a ping-pong table for the cast, and we would just blow off steam. We had a rec room that we created, and we'd play ping-pong, throw darts, play cards, try to take our minds off of it in our brief time off.
ET: You direct "Friends." Are you interested in directing a project of this nature in the future?
DAVID: I don't know about this particular topic. After watching Jon do this, I was in awe of his energy, his passion, and his research of seven years. The kind of responsibility that comes with telling this type of story is great. I can see directing more features in the future. What I've been adapting for the stage for the last three years is the book by STUDS TURKEL called Race that deals with the issue of racism in America.
