David Schwimmer has confessed that when Friends ended, he didn’t watch a single episode because he didn’t like the theme tune—until something changed.
It’s been two decades since Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer said their heartbreaking goodbyes on the popular TV program Friends, which aired for 20 years.
While the 1994 NBC comedy remains relevant and amusing to audiences of all ages, Schwimmer, who portrayed Ross Geller, has confessed that he never watched one episode after it ended in 2004.
On an episode of the Making A Scene podcast with Matt Lucas and David Walliams, the Emmy nominee discussed his connection with Friends as well as his personal problem with the show’s theme music.
“So I never watched the show after we finished it,” the 58-year-old admitted. “For me, it’s like I did it, I’m moving on, I don’t really go back.”
“I’ll be honest. For a long time, simply hearing the theme tune was enough,” he groaned. “I felt overwhelmed by that emotion because I had heard it so many times. I didn’t like it at first because it was your entrance tune on talk shows, interviews, and programs.
Lucas remarked, “Well, no one told you life was going to be that way,” echoing the iconic opening song “I’ll Be There For You” by the Rembrandts. However, after becoming a father, Lucas seemed to transform.
Schwimmer, who claimed being a dad is the ‘biggest joy’ of his life, went on to explain that his daughter, Cleo, 13, whom he shares with ex-wife Zoë Buckman, changed his perspective when the youngster found the program.
“At approximately nine years old, my child discovered and began watching it. While I was preparing breakfast or doing other tasks, I would hear my child laughing. This led to a complete transformation in my relationship with that song and the show.”
The People v. O.J. Simpson actor previously stated on the show that Friends was his ‘big break’ and one of the ‘greatest life-changing experiences’ of his life from the minute it premiered.
He remembers traveling to a casino in Las Vegas and being informed it was the last time he’d be allowed to do so in ‘absolute anonymity’ before the program premiered in 1994.
“It was an incredible life-changing chapter, that 10-year chapter,” Schwimmer said, adding that the cast and crew had so much affection’ for one another.
However, he acknowledged that he wasn’t prepared for Friends to end when it did.
He said, “But at the same time, certainly, there was a part of me that was at least ready for the next chapter,” noting the emotional finale. It felt like it was coming to a natural finish, perhaps overstaying its welcome a little, but we were still having so much fun that it was time.”