David Schwimmer rose to prominence in the popular sitcom Friends, and throughout the show’s 10-year run, he also proved his skills as a director. Schwimmer starred as the largely unfortunate Ross Geller in the popular sitcom, and his character became one of the most recognizable sitcom characters in TV history. But he is also recognized as the only leading cast member to have served as a director for several notable episodes of the show.
Since starring in Friends, Schwimmer has worked as both an actor and a director. His directing credits include Run, Fatboy, Run, Little Britain USA, and the 2010 drama Trust, for which he was nominated for the Grand Special Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival. During his time as Ross Geller on the show, Schwimmer was allowed to work as the director for 10 iconic episodes of the celebrated sitcom.
Character | Actor |
|---|---|
Rachel Green | Jennifer Aniston |
Monica Geller | Courteney Cox |
Phoebe Buffay | Lisa Kudrow |
Joey Tribbiani | Matt LeBlanc |
Chandler Bing | Matthew Perry |
Ross Geller | David Schwimmer |
10 The One On The Last Night (1999)
Friends: Season 6, Episode 6
In “The One On The Last Night”, Rachel and Chandler are preparing to move, with Chandler moving in with Monica and Rachel moving out. The girls are emotional about the situation, but things escalate into an argument. Chandler prepares to move out of his and Joey’s apartment, but Joey’s financial issues give Chandler an idea to help his best friend.
Arguably, this episode marked the first real beginning of change within the show; nothing was going to be the same anymore as Chandler and Rachel both prepared to leave their homes. In the first of the 10 episodes that he directed, David Schwimmer was able to direct his castmates to express different emotions toward change, through humor, anger, and sadness.
9 The One Where Joey Dates Rachel (2002)
Friends: Season 8, Episode 12
Joey and Rachel have supported each other throughout the show and this episode reflects one of those times. Joey is preparing to go on a date and when Rachel admits she misses going out on dates, Joey takes her out. They end up having a great time together, but by the end of the episode, Joey begins to realize that he might have feelings for his friend.
This episode is another masterful blend of comedy and drama; the comedic side is shown within the two subplots where Ross struggles with traveling between two classes and Phoebe and Monica become addicted to an arcade game. Drama is shown when Joey realizes his feelings for Rachel, which causes him to freak out. While their romantic relationship later doesn’t last, this episode marks the beginning of one of the most unlikely couples on the show.
Related
Friends: 23 Crazy Revelations About Joey And Rachel’s Relationship
Fans were really thankful that this couple was one story on Friends that didn’t last long.
8 The One With the Stripper (2001)
Friends: Season 8, Episode 8
Ross is undoubtedly the most unfortunate of the group and this season 8 episode highlights another time when bad things happened to him. Rachel’s father discovers her pregnancy, and she admits that Ross is the father. When he learns that Rachel and Ross don’t plan on marrying, Dr. Green angrily confronts Ross while he’s on a date with Mona.
This episode highlights one of the best moments where Ross finds himself stuck in a difficult situation. Just when his relationship with Mona is getting serious, he finds himself forced to defend his actions to both her and Dr. Green in his signature dramatic expressions. When bad things do happen, Ross always responds through his brilliant displays of comedic timing and this episode perfectly highlights this.
7 The One With the Truth About London (2001)
Friends: Season 7, Episode 16
The trip to London for Ross’ ill-fated wedding to Emily was arguably one of the turning points of the entire show. It marked the beginning of Chandler and Monica’s relationship; this season 7 episode shows them preparing for their wedding. But some shocking revelations about the London trip threaten to end their plans, and their relationship.
When Monica admits that she was looking for Joey on the night of the wedding, Chandler becomes upset and initially doesn’t want Joey as part of the wedding. This leads to Joey giving a moving speech about how Chandler and Monica are perfect for each other, which is one of the most heartwarming moments between the two best friends. Schwimmer also adds a sense of humor by showing what might have happened if Monica had ended up with Joey, giving viewers an interesting insight into what could have been.
6 The One With Rachel’s Assistant (2000)
Friends: Season 7, Episode 4
In this season 7 episode, Rachel faces a career change; while she’s held down many different jobs, she finally lands her dream role at Bloomingdale’s and can hire an assistant. In a subplot, after Monica tricks Chandler into telling her what happened to Ross at Disneyland, the trio begins revealing each other’s secrets.
Throughout the entire show, Ross and Monica have displayed sibling rivalry, and there have been several times when they’ve spilled the beans on each other. In this episode, they don’t hold back, revealing to everyone that Ross enjoyed watching Golden Girls and Monica once ate macaroni from a jewelry box. What makes this revelation war even more hilarious is that Chandler joins in, revealing some salacious secrets of his own.
Related
Friends: 10 Best Episodes Showing Monica And Ross’ Sibling Dynamic
Friends’ Monica and Ross have a close relationship as brother and sister, and their sibling dynamic plays out in many hilarious episodes in the show.
5 The One With the Birth Mother (2004)
Friends: Season 10, Episode 9
Throughout their time on Friends, Chandler and Monica slowly developed into one of the show’s most beloved couples. After finally tying the knot in season 7, they decide to take the next step and become parents. When they learn that they cannot have children, Chandler and Monica choose to adopt, and they travel to an adoption agency in Ohio.
Chandler and Monica’s time at the agency doesn’t go as planned as their records are mixed up with a reverend and a doctor. This results in Monica deciding to act along, while Chandler struggles with telling the truth to the potential birth mother, Erica. With this episode, Schwimmer was able to masterfully blend comedy and drama, as seen with Chandler and Monica and in the subplot where Joey struggles with sharing food. He also directed the episode to end happily as Erica decides to let Chandler and Monica adopt her baby.
Related
Friends: Monica & Chandler Relationship Timeline, Season By Season
Monica and Chandler are one of the cutest couples in Friends – but how did their relationship play out over the years?
4 The One With All the Candy (2000)
Friends: Season 7, Episode 9
In this episode, Ross’ son Ben is learning to ride a bicycle and Phoebe admits that she never owned a bike as a child. She describes how she always wanted a pink bicycle with a wicker basket and tassels, but her family couldn’t afford one. When Ross learns about this, he decides to buy Phoebe the bike that she wanted as a child; later, when he discovers that she doesn’t know how to ride, he teaches her.
Schwimmer highlights his character’s soft side when it comes to his friends; Ross takes it upon himself to buy Phoebe the bike she always wanted. There are still moments of humor where Phoebe struggles with riding it, but Ross motivates her to try again through a hilarious and passionate speech about the bike dying if it’s not ridden, making this one of the funniest moments between Ross and Phoebe throughout the show.
3 The One With Ross’ Library Book (2000)
Friends: Season 7, Episode 7
Ross is arguably the most unlucky of the group regarding love, but he has seen better success in his career. When he visits the library, he is thrilled to learn that his doctoral dissertation has been filed in the Paleontology section. His joy is soon turned to disappointment when he discovers that this particular section is only used by students to fool around.
Feeling insulted, Ross decides to stand guard outside the Paleontology section, stopping any couple from hooking up there. His plans quickly go out the window, however, when a beautiful woman enters the section and reveals that she has read his dissertation. It doesn’t take long for Ross and the girl to get frisky among the library shelves, leading them to get caught by campus security in one of the most underrated hilarious moments on the show.
2 The One With Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner (2002)
Friends: Season 9, Episode 5
All Phoebe wants to do on her birthday is to have a nice dinner in a restaurant with her friends, but, in this season 9 episode, nothing goes right. Joey arrives on time, but everybody else is delayed. Chandler and Monica argue because Chandler has taken up smoking again, while Ross and Rachel accidentally lock themselves out of their apartment when Rachel struggles with leaving Emma for the first time.
This episode highlights the ways that the characters have changed since the beginning of the show. Rachel expresses concern for her daughter’s safety as a mom, showing her change from the first season where she was an immature brat living off her father’s money; Phoebe displays her disappointment at her friends letting her down, showing her being more honest about her feelings. The episode ends on a funny note, where Joey is left to eat all the food himself, proving his love of food hasn’t changed a bit.
1 The One With the Red Sweater (2001)
Friends: Season 8, Episode 2
Friends‘ season 7 ended on a cliffhanger when it was discovered that Rachel was pregnant at Chandler and Monica’s wedding and audiences were left guessing who the father was. Season 8 began with the only clue to the father’s identity being a red sweater. At the end of the episode, Ross claims the sweater as his, inadvertently revealing to everyone that he is the father of Rachel’s baby.
“The One With the Red Sweater” is often regarded as one of Friends‘ best episodes, thanks to its mystery and the anticipation of revealing one of the biggest secrets ever on the show. The audience reacted strongly to the revelation that Ross was the baby’s father and were thrilled that there was proof that Ross and Rachel’s relationship wasn’t entirely over. This episode marked the beginning of the slow reunion of Ross and Rachel, making this the best of the Friends episodes that David Schwimmer directed.
