-My first guest
is an Emmy-nominated actor
who stars in the very funny
new show "Intelligence,"
which is available now
on Peacock.
Here is the one and only
David Schwimmer!
Hey!
-Whoo!
-It's so good to see you, buddy.
How are you doing?
-I'm good.
I'm good.
-Yeah, like all of us.
-Living the dream.
-Yeah, just trying to do it,
yeah.
Well,
you're making people laugh,
which is why you're on our show.
Thank you so much for coming on.
I want to talk about your show,
"Intelligence."
This is the first sitcom that
you've done since "Friends."
I mean, I can just imagine
what goes through your mind
when you're thinking about this.
I mean, that's such a high bar.
Do you compare all of your --
like, everything that gets
offered to you to "Friends?"
-I mean, I try not to,
honestly.
I guess I've just been waiting
for what I feel is
kind of an original idea
and a character that
excites me and challenges me.
You know, but the one thing
I guess I would say,
in terms of that bar that was
set so high on "Friends"
is the collaborative spirit
on that set.
And so, I do try to make sure
that at least whatever show
I'm gonna sign up for
has that same --
that same spirit, that kind of
collaborative spirit,
and, as much as possible,
no ego onset.
And luckily, that's what I found
with Nick Mohammed,
who writes this show,
"Intelligence,"
and stars with me in the show.
That's what I found
in this show, so it's --
So far, it's a blast.
-Is it true that you recently
turned down Ross?
I mean, you probably have been
asked these questions
a million times -- I'm sorry --
but is that real?
-That's real, yeah.
-How? Walk me through this.
-Yeah.
So I -- I had, um...
I had a miserable experience
on my first job
as a series regular
just before "Friends."
Like, about
a year and a half before.
And luckily,
that show only went like --
We only made 12 episodes,
and then it was cancelled.
But I felt like -- talk about
collaborative process.
I felt like
I was not invited to play.
Not -- No --
My ideas were not interesting
or listened to, or --
-You were just someone
reading someone else's lines.
Like, just read it
and get out of the way, yeah.
-Basically, I felt like a prop.
They say, "Just kind of shut up
and say the line."
And I felt like, "Well..."
And you know this, I think.
Like, when you -- when you
sign up for a show,
you're committing to five
or six years of your life.
-Yeah.
-And at that point, I thought,
"This is horrible.
I feel like
it's a prison sentence.
I mean, that's an exaggeration,
but it just wasn't fun.
And so when that show was
cancelled -- thank goodness --
I -- I was like, "I'm never
doing another sitcom."
-Yeah.
-And I moved back to Chicago,
and I was doing theater
with my company,
and I got the call
from my agent about "Friends,"
and I just said, "No, I'm not --
I'm not doing it."
-Wow.
And did you know
David Crane and Marta Kauffman?
-Yeah. Well, and this is what
eventually happened.
I got a call from Jim Burrows
while I was in Chicago, who,
legendary director of, you know,
"Taxi," "Cheers," "Frasier,"
and he was gonna direct
the pilot of "Friends,"
which he did, and he said,
"You got to come out
and meet everyone."
And I was like,
"I can't say no to this guy.
He's, like, a legend."
-Sure.
-So I went out,
and that's when Marta and David
told me that they had written
Ross with my voice in mind.
And I was like,
"What are you talking about?"
And they reminded me
I had auditioned for them
a year before.
They had written the show
about six New Yorkers
living in the same apartment
building, called "Couples,"
and I didn't get --
it was down to me
and my buddy Johnny Silverman,
who was cast.
-I love him.
-Yeah, anyway, that show,
they made the pilot,
but it didn't go to series.
And then, a year or more later,
they -- they created "Friends."
And so, when I heard that they
wrote this part with me in mind,
I was like, "Okay.
Yeah, let's -- I feel --
Yeah, let's do this."
It's the biggest
compliment ever.
-I don't think anyone could ever
picture anyone else doing it.
There was talk of a reunion
special with all of you guys
getting together
and maybe talk of you guys
quarantining together to make
sure that the reunion happened.
Is any of this true or no?
You guys can stay at my
apartment if you want to.
-Oh, that's so sweet.
They're all in L.A.
They're all in L.A., so...
I'll come over, anyway,
just for...
[ Both laugh ]
-Good, you're invited, yeah.
No problem. I'll leave the key
with the doorman.
-Yeah.
The hope is that we're --
this reunion special,
which we would love to shoot,
you know, it's unscripted.
It's basically
a really fun interview
and then some other
surprise bits.
But it's supposed to happen
maybe in August,
the middle of August,
but, honestly,
we're gonna wait and see
another week or two
if we all determine
it's really safe enough to do.
And if not, then we'll wait
until it's safe, so...
-I remember --
Probably you don't remember,
but I hung out with you
in London.
I think we were both doing parts
in "Band of Brothers."
You had a bigger part
than I had,
but we went out to go see
the Lennox Lewis fight.
And this was after "Friends"
but, man,
you were the biggest star
in that whole arena.
-Yeah.
I mean, I don't think I was
a bigger draw
than Lennox Lewis, but...
[ Both laugh ]
-That night you were.
I think people
were just screaming.
-I'm not sure if the people
would pay to see me fight
that night,
or you and I fight.
-No, that would be so lame.
Oh, my God.
-Maybe if we were the undercard.
Maybe that would have been --
-[ Laughing ]
But were people --
What do people yell out
the most to you
when you get your quote,
when you go to, like,
an event or you go out?
-Um...
"Hey, good-looking."
No, it's...
It's, you know, obviously,
there's gonna be those people
who feel compelled to yell
"Pivot" or,
"You were on a break."
You know, people are so
passionately divided
about whether or not, you know,
they were on a break.
-Yeah, this is a giant thing.
People get --
They have their sides.
Can you say what right now
as you, David Schwimmer,
where do you --
were they on a break,
or were they not on a break?
-Yeah, it's not even a question,
they were on a break.
-[ Laughing, clapping ]
I love the way
you delivered that.
It's perfect.
"It's not even a question."
Can you stick around?
I want to talk about
your new show.
-Hmm. Okay.
-[ Laughs ]
