THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996 TAG: 9605150024
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
DAVID SCHWIMMER, star of the TV superhit ``Friends,'' has the Sad Sack look of a Buster Keaton clown - with a little of cartoonish Droopy Dog thrown in.
Still, there's a smile coming on.
Schwimmer's head actually sinks down into his shoulders a bit, as if he's a double dose of shy and bashful. Yet, the guy is wearing a $500 Armani suit and his picture is plastered across a huge billboard a block away.
He does smile.
``Really?'' he asks. ``My picture is on a billboard? Is it the Coca-Cola thing? I got to go down there and see it.''
Schwimmer has a good deal to smile about.
In addition to his role as Ross, the wisecracking nerd, in the wildly successful ``Friends,'' he currently stars in the critically acclaimed movie ``The Pallbearer.''
His roles in ``Friends'' and ``The Pallbearer'' are similar. In the movie, he plays Tom Thompson, a college graduate who hasn't yet found a job, is still living at home with his mother, and hasn't got a girlfriend. Ross, his character in ``Friends,'' is a young professional who has finally landed his fantasy girl after a long chase.
``Yes, I identify with the role, a little, but Tom is not the same guy as Ross. I think most guys can identify with Tom in that there was always that time when they hadn't yet found their niche. They're out of college and they're on their own, but what next? I waited on tables for a while. As for Tom, he wants to be the man of the house but he's still living with his mother and she has to give him money to go out on a date. He's still a boy.''
``The Pallbearer'' was inevitably compared to ``The Graduate'' because of the similar themes - coming-of-age and an affair with an older woman (played by Barbara Hershey).
Director Matt Reeves, though, says the two films are markedly different.
``In `The Graduate,' Dustin Hoffman graduated into a world of limitless possibilities. In `The Pallbearer,' David Schwimmer is graduating into a world of limited, almost no, possibilities. It's a difference in times.
``When I cast David, the `Friends' phenomenon hadn't yet happened. I didn't know who he was. I hadn't seen him in anything but I immediately wanted him for the part. The studio wanted a star name, but I asked them: `Where is there a star name in this age range that can play this part?' There are none. We don't have a 25-year-old Tom Hanks around.''
The director adds that ``David has a beautifully sad face. You really can feel his pain when you look at it. He can make you squirm, but you also want to laugh. You don't immediately know how to react to him.''
Schwimmer, 29, is amazed at his own stardom. He can't go out on the street in New York without being recognized.
``I don't like it particularly,'' he said as he gives that ``Gee whiz'' look. ``Then, on the other hand, I'm not going to be one of those people who complains. I'm on TV. I'm in a movie. These are facts. I've got to deal with them. I'm getting a little used to it. When I was on David Letterman the first time, I worried all day long. I was pretty nervous. I'm going to be on tonight and I haven't even thought about it. Am I getting blase about the whole thing?''
He doesn't like the tabloid stories that go along with celebrity, though. When he broke up with his girlfriend, Louisiana lawyer Sarah Trimble, the tabloids made big headlines out of what they claimed was a broken engagement.
``We were never engaged,'' Schwimmer said. ``I'm not that kind of guy. I'm very family-oriented. I was brought up that way. If I had been engaged, we wouldn't have broken up. Things like that are not that flippant. An engagement would be a serious thing.''
Born in Queens, N.Y., and raised in Los Angeles, Schwimmer is the son of two lawyers. (His mother represented Roseanne in her first divorce).
``My parents wanted me to study medicine or law but they went along when I wanted to be a theater major at Northwestern. The one thing they insisted upon was that I get a college education. They were very big into academics - and me getting good grades.''
He graduated with a degree in speech and theater from Northwestern in 1988 and subsequently studied acting at Oxford University and the Lee Strasberg Academy. He and seven other Northwestern graduates founded the Lookingglass Theater Company in Chicago in 1988. He's still involved with it.
``My theater company is very important to me. I took the Diet Coca-Cola ad just to make money for the theater company. All the money from that went to them. I was the director of the company for a year. I was in 50 plays, playing all kinds of roles, before I got `Friends.' That's why I know I have more range than just playing guys like Ross and Tom. I'm in this for the long run - for the next 40 years at least.''
He has a seven-picture deal with Miramax for the next seven years. The first, ``Stepping in the Dogwater,'' a comedy about a class reunion, is currently before the cameras in Chicago, with Schwimmer directing.
``I play just a supporting role,'' he said. ``I know people are going to come at me, claiming I'm taking on too much, both directing and acting. But I've been directing plays for years.
``I've cast all members of the Lookingglass company in the movie. They're all unknowns in movies, but I wanted them to be in my movie. They're my family. The theater company is where I go back to whenever I'm off. They're very protective of me now. When we go out, they try to kind of hide me from people.''
He's not abandoning his new ``Friends,'' either.
``No one is really against me, I don't think,'' Schwimmer said. ``I'm not deserting the TV show.''
He does feel, though, that ``Friends'' may be in trouble because of its success.
``It's important that we be everyday people. Since the show debuted in 1994, it got more and more popular. It's hard to be everyday when it's also a success. The cast, though, is a real ensemble effort. We don't compare our `other' careers. On `Friends,' we just work to make it as funny as we can.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MIRAMAX FILMS
David Schwimmer, here with Carol Kane in ``The Pallbearer,'' also
stars in NBC's ``Friends.''
KEYWORDS: PROFILE INTERVIEW BIOGRAPHY by CNB