Film Writer

Of all the former "Friends" stars, David Schwimmer has maintained the lowest media profile. But the 41-year-old, Beverly Hills High alum has actually been quite busy since the beloved comedy series taped its last episode in 2004.

He's done acclaimed stage work, popped up in episodes of other great laugh fests ("30 Rock," "Curb Your Enthusiasm"), appeared in a couple of little movies no one saw.

And, oh yeah, Schwimmer's own film directing debut just came out. "Run, Fat Boy, Run," starring Simon Pegg, about a put-upon English everyguy who enters the London Marathon for love. It's funny and melancholy, very much the type of thing you'd expect a romantic punching bag like Ross to get involved with.

Schwimmer, of course, is not Ross. Not as much as we might assume, anyway.

Your title character isn't exactly fat.

Yeah, Simon had just shot the movie "Hot Fuzz," so he was in the best shape of his life. We actually had to add a prosthetic beer belly, man boobs and butt to him. But honestly, the movie was never like "Norbit." It wasn't that kind of movie.

Was that the biggest challenge of your first film directing gig?

It's a big-budget script on a low-budget budget, and we shot it in the most expensive city in the world to film in, 50 locations in 35 days. So I prepared as much as I could beforehand, but there were still a thousand things you can't prepare for that, as a first-time director, I just had no idea.

For instance, for some reason I figured I could make 200 extras work before the day I arrived to shoot the marathon. But it wasn't until I was in this huge space that I realized a marathon is 10,000 runners and 30,000 spectators. I looked at my first A(ssistant) D(irector) and said, "Uh, where are all the people?" She said, "We literally can't afford more bodies." So it took some really strategic camera work.

Directing isn't a new thing for you, though.

I've kind of been directing and acting for 20 years. This is my first film, but I did a lot of directing in college, at Northwestern, then at our theater company in Chicago, where I've directed something every two or three years. Then I started doing episodes of "Friends," a couple of pilots. So it's not like directing is some big, foreign idea. But having said that, directing a film takes a lot longer.

Doing an episode of "Friends" takes a week. Doing a play is, maybe, eight weeks. Doing a movie was a year and a half.

Were you surprised by the success of "Friends"?

I think everyone was surprised by it. I don't think any of us, going into it, expected that.

Any idea why it was so phenomenally popular?

I think, maybe, it was because at that particular time, a lot of people that age, the friends they were making were becoming their second family. A lot of people were products of divorce, leaving home and going off to school or moving away for jobs, and the new friends they made became their family. So I think it tapped into something.

With all your "Friends" millions, why work?

I love to work. I love acting and I love directing. I'm not going to just suddenly sit back with a big cigar and go, "Yeah, that was it!" I mean, what kind of life is that? That's just boring to me.

The greatest thing about the financial freedom that the show gave us is that now I can support my parents, and I can support a family and my charities. I can produce movies that people I believe in write and act in. It gives you a great amount of fulfillment. It's kind of a karmic thing, y'know? I feel like I got lucky, share it. So that's what I do.

But you have money for expensive indulgences?

No. There's no good reason for that. But, honestly, I'm not an extravagant person. There's something that feels kind of wrong to me about that. I think it's the way I was raised.

You seem unaffected by your fame.

I'm pretty low-key. I don't have a crew with me all the time. I live in New York now, and I just hit the streets or the subway with a baseball cap and a backpack and my iPod. I don't really think about it that much. I don't wake up in the morning thinking, ah, I'm David Schwimmer on that show! It's not until a fan comes up and asks for an autograph that I'm reminded.

Do fans think of you as just a "Friends" star?

I'm sure that has something to do with it. I remember when I did "Band of Brothers" that I played a part that a lot of people thought was completely different from the character on "Friends." But then there were some critics who thought it was just Ross in the Army.

What are you going to do with that?

I can't change someone's perception.

Why are you still active with your Chicago theater company?

It's the environment, more than anything, that I love. It's completely ego-free. And it's really grounding in a way, and refreshing. ... Especially when you're working in the Hollywood television and film industry. Lookingglass is never about the lead actor or the star director. It's just about the company, the ensemble and the play.

Dating anyone?

Yeah, I have a girlfriend. She's a photographer. Not a paparazza. (Schwimmer was seen with Zoe Buckman at the film's premiere.)

Ever think about getting married?

My parents are!

Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670
bob.strauss@dailynews.com