David Schwimmer
Acting • Born 1966-11-02
Biography
David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater and speech. After graduation, Schwimmer co-founded the Lookingglass Theatre Company. For much of the late-1980s, he lived in Los Angeles as a struggling, unemployed actor. He appeared in the television movie A Deadly Silence in 1989. He then appeared in a number of television roles, including L.A. Law, The Wonder Years, NYPD Blue, and Monty in the early 1990s. Schwimmer later gained worldwide recognition for playing Ross Geller in the situation comedy Friends. Aside from appearing in television, he starred in his first leading role in The Pallbearer (1996), which was followed by roles in Kissing a Fool (1998), Six Days Seven Nights (1998), Apt Pupil, and Picking Up the Pieces (2000). He was then cast in the miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) as Herbert Sobel. Following the series finale of Friends in 2004, Schwimmer was cast as the titular character in the 2005 drama Duane Hopwood. Other film roles include the computer animated film Madagascar (2005), the dark comedy Big Nothing (2006), the thriller Nothing But the Truth (2008), and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008). Schwimmer made his London stage debut in the leading role in Some Girl(s) in 2005. In 2006, he made his Broadway debut in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. Schwimmer made his feature film directorial debut with the 2007 comedy Run Fatboy Run. The following year he made his Off-Broadway directorial debut in the 2008 production Fault Lines. Description above from the Wikipedia article David Schwimmer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
82 credits
Madagascar
Movie • 2005
Melman (voice)
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Movie • 2008
Melman (voice)
Wolf
Movie • 1994
Cop
Uprising
Movie • 2001
Icchak 'Antek' Cukierman
Six Days Seven Nights
Movie • 1998
Frank Martin
The Pallbearer
Movie • 1996
Tom Thompson
All the Rage
Movie • 1999
Chris
Merry Madagascar
Movie • 2009
Melman (voice)
Apt Pupil
Movie • 1998
Edward French
Duane Hopwood
Movie • 2005
Duane Hopwood
Big Nothing
Movie • 2006
Charlie
Nothing But the Truth
Movie • 2008
Ray Armstrong
Since You've Been Gone
Movie • 1998
Robert S. Levitt
Kissing a Fool
Movie • 1998
Max Abbitt
The Iceman
Movie • 2012
Josh Rosenthal
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
Movie • 2012
Melman (voice)
Twenty Bucks
Movie • 1993
Neil Campbell
Breast Men
Movie • 1997
Dr. Kevin Saunders
Madly Madagascar
Movie • 2013
Melman (voice)
Hotel
Movie • 2001
Jonathan Danderfine
The Thin Pink Line
Movie • 1998
Kelly Goodich / J.T.
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Movie • 2002
Self
Picking Up the Pieces
Movie • 2000
Father Leo Jerome
The Fringe, Fame and Me
Movie • 2022
Self
National Lampoon's Another Dirty Movie
Movie • 2012
Self (uncredited)
Little Death
Movie • 2024
Martin Solomon
The Waiter
Movie • 1993
Evil Waiter
David Baddiel: Jews Don't Count
Movie • 2022
Self
Must See TV: An All Star Tribute to James Burrows
Movie • 2016
Self
Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life
Movie • 1997
Self
A Deadly Silence
Movie • 1989
Rob Cuccio
Crossing the Bridge
Movie • 1992
John Anderson
Flight of the Intruder
Movie • 1991
Duty Officer
The Laundromat
Movie • 2019
Matthew Quirk
Love & Sex
Movie • 2000
Jehovah's Witness
Friends: The Reunion
Movie • 2021
Self
Friends 25th: The One with the Anniversary
Movie • 2019
Ross Geller
John Carter
Movie • 2012
Young Thark Warrior
That's Harassment
Movie • 2018
Boss
The Making of 'Band of Brothers'
Movie • 2001
Self
A Sprinkle of History
Movie
Bill Rosenberg
Matthew Perry: A Hollywood Tragedy
Movie • 2025
Self (archive footage)
The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Movie • 2016
Robert Kardashian
The Daily Show
TV • 1996
Self
The Single Guy
TV • 1995
Ross Geller
Friends
TV • 1994
Ross Geller
E! True Hollywood Story
TV • 1996
Self (archive footage)
The Wonder Years
TV • 1988
Michael
30 Rock
TV • 2006
Greenzo / Jared
Band of Brothers
TV • 2001
Herbert M. Sobel
The Graham Norton Show
TV • 2007
Self
Monty
TV • 1994
Greg Richardson
Extrapolations
TV • 2023
Harris Goldblatt
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer
TV • 2018
Self - Guest
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Host
American Crime Story
TV • 2016
Robert Kardashian
Curb Your Enthusiasm
TV • 2000
David Schwimmer
Feed the Beast
TV • 2016
Tommy Moran
Captain Fall
TV • 2023
Come Fly with Me
TV • 2010
Himself
Episodes
TV • 2011
David Schwimmer
Mysterious Planet
TV • 2020
Narrator
The Reichen Show
TV • 2005
Self
Celebrity Poker Showdown
TV • 2003
Self
Web Therapy
TV • 2011
Newell L. Miller
Will & Grace
TV • 2017
Noah
Intelligence
TV • 2020
Jerry
The Graham Norton Show
TV • 2007
Self - Guest
Entertainment Tonight
TV • 1981
Self
L.A. Law
TV • 1986
Dana Romney
The View
TV • 1997
Self
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
TV • 2014
Self
The Big Narstie Show
TV • 2018
Self
The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan
TV • 2019
Self
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
TV • 2003
Self
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
Self
Goosebumps: The Vanishing
TV • 2025
Anthony Brewer
Entourage
TV • 2004
David Schwimmer
Uprising
TV • 2001
Icchak 'Antek' Cukierman
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
TV • 1988
Self - Guest
Four Floors Up
TV • 2026
Daniel "Danny" Marks
L.A. Law
TV • 1986
City Attorney Dana Romney