David Schwimmer catapulted to stardom when he was cast on the award-winning sitcom Friends. For ten years, he worked as a regular cast member and even served as the director of several episodes of the series. As the paleontologist Ross Geller, he was distinctly known for his nasal voice, nerdy intellect and abstract sense of humor. His love for dinosaurs and other scientific beliefs often led to conflict with Phoebe’s self-devised beliefs, and were usually a recurring joke throughout the series. Described by his parents as a “medical marvel,” he was generally favored by his parents over his younger sister Monica. As for his love life, he dated several women on the show and got divorced three times, starting off with Carol, Emily and then Rachel. But among all the women he dated, he was most enthralled with Rachel, who was his crush since high school. His on and off relationship with Rachel over the years eventually resulted to a happy ending when Rachel decided to stay for Ross instead of moving to Paris during its finale episode.

After a decade of Friends, Schwimmer focused his career in the silver screen. He starred as the titular character in Duane Hopwood, a comedy-drama featured in the Sundance Film Festival. The cast also included Janeane Garofalo, John Krakinski, Judah Friedlander, Susan Lynch, Dick Cavett and Mia Dillon. He also served as the voice of hypochondriac giraffe named Melman in the animated film Madagascar. Later, he starred in the black comedy entitled Big Nothing, in which he played the role of Charlie.

On September 28, 2007, Run, Fat Boy, Run, will be hitting the theaters. Schwimmer serves as the director of the comedy movie, which features Simon Pegg, Dylan Moran, and Thandie Newton. Next year, he will once again give life to the character Melman the Giraffe in the sequel Madagascar 2: The Lost Island. The animated film also features the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, and Jada Pinkett Smith among others.

-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist

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