interview - DAVID SCHWIMMER

Running the Show

After ending his 1994-2004 run as Ross Geller on the sitcom Friends, David Schwimmer took the transatlantic route to directing his first big-screen feature, Run, Fat Boy, Run.

He made his West End London theatre debut in Neil LaBute’s Some Girls in 2005 and co-starred in the England- and Vancouver-shot Big Nothing, a blackmail caper that limped out of U.K. movie theatres in 2006.

But something emerged from Nothing: Schwimmer cemented his collaboration with co-star Simon Pegg of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz fame. They tweaked Michael Ian Black’s Run, Fat Boy, Run script with Pegg starring as pudgy groom Dennis who leaves his pregnant fiancée Libby (Thandie Newton) at the altar and tries to win her back years later by racing in the London Marathon. His saggy will power and Libby’s studly boyfriend Whit (Hank Azaria) stand between Dennis and his one true love.

Schwimmer had his own long-distance race to get the low-budget comedy shot on time and on budget in a relatively unfamiliar location. His previous directing experience was confined to television, including 10 episodes of Friends.

 “I was impressed on a daily basis with him in terms of how he came at it,” Pegg says in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the movie made its North American debut this past September. “A cynical person might say he’s bored now because he’s made all this money. He didn’t walk onto the set like a novice. He walked on the set utterly aware of lens size and angles, and the line and all the technical know-how you need as a director.”

Did being there for so long give you a better feel for the British sensibility? “It certainly gave me the opportunity to get familiar with the particular parts of London which are so fantastic, which we tried to put on camera in the film. I’m a huge fan of architecture and loved exploring the different neighbourhoods. That really prepared me to kind of immerse myself in London and the vibe there. It surprised me when I thought about other English films — other romantic comedies — I had seen here in the States that weren’t really representative of the London I was experiencing, primarily in terms of casting and colour. There was no real ethnic diversity in the films. I was determined, and so was Simon, to do it different in this one.”

Were you nervous about directing a movie for the first time? “I certainly, in a healthy way, kind of felt, ‘Let’s bring it.’ You have to bring your ‘A’ game to the table. I was very prepared. I worked really hard in preproduction to be just as prepared as possible, every scene blocked and shot-listed. I wanted a battle plan so that if mistakes happened, I would be more able to roll with the punches. I knew we were shooting a very ambitious film and we had no money. We had very little money.”

How about a ballpark figure? “Four-and-a-half million dollars. It was shot over 50 locations over 35 days in the middle of possibly the most expensive city to shoot in in the world. I saw that we had a marathon in the movie and when I saw that my assistant AD had budgeted 200 extras for that whole sequence — there are normally 10,000 to 30,000 runners — I thought, did we all read the same script? But that was our budget.”

In hindsight, was it convenient to shoot this away from the States, a bit under the radar? “I didn’t feel there was less pressure but, um, there was something nice about being a guest in the country. It was a feeling that pervaded my whole attitude and whole experience there. I always felt really grateful, every day.”

Could this be the start of a new career path? “I hope so. I certainly want to direct more movies. It’s been a really interesting three years from when [Friends] ended. I think I didn’t want to kind of deal with how it would feel when the show ended, so I just tried to work as much as possible. I kind of kept my nose to the ground. It’s only after having worked on this for almost a year and a half that I can kind of check in with myself again. How do I feel about the show having ended? Is this a new chapter?”

Wow, not even a pop-culture icon can relax. “I’m not brought up to relax. There’s a real work ethic my parents instilled in me that I feel somehow that I’m not being productive if I’m not working. I’m being lazy or something.”

Have your parents changed? “Yeah, now they say you need to take a break.”

Simon said you did everything in your power to show authority on the set — in a positive way. “I had done my homework, I guess. That’s nice of him to say. I felt the job is really easy in that you cast great actors. If you cast great actors, and you surround yourself with excellent people, your job is a lot easier.”

You were quoted that you won’t be happy until you’re a dad. Could you elaborate? “I am a happy guy. What I meant by that, and maybe it’s a little out of context, is that I think I will be happiest when I have a family, when I have children. And I say that because I’ve seen my closest friends happier. I’ve never seen them as happy as when they’re holding their first kids and stuff.”

When it’s not happening romantically, do you bury yourself in work? “It’s quite the opposite. I feel like my personal life is probably taking a backseat to my professional life. I think I need to start making that more of a priority. It’s impossible to have a real relationship when you’re working as much or travelling in different countries.”

After working as an actor for hire on Rod Lurie’s Nothing But the Truth, the Valerie Plame-inspired story, do you have your eye on some directing projects? “Yeah, there are a couple of things I’ve read that I’ve liked. I’m also developing something with a writer that’s a dramatic thriller about internet predators.”

Although Friends ended in 2004, the public and media still seem very interested in you. Is that rewarding? “I think if you ask any actor that, they’d probably give a similar answer, which is there’s a desire for more of a private life, but at the same time it’s really touching to me that that show and that character impacted as many people as it did, especially young people.”

Ron Dicker is a New York-based entertainment writer.