While opening up about the downsides of fame that came with starring on the show, David Schwimmer has revealed he went through a phrase of hating the ‘Friends’ theme tune.
David Schwimmer went through a phrase of hating the ‘Friends’ theme tune.
The actor, 58, played bumbling Ross Geller on the sitcom, and despite its opening track being loved by fans he has now revealed how he once couldn’t stand it.
He said during a recent appearance on the ‘Making a Scene’ podcast with Matt Lucas and David Walliams: “I’ll be really honest – there was a time for quite a while that just hearing the theme song would really uggh.”
He added his aversion to the tune was hearing it on repeat, with David hearing The Rembrandts’ ‘‘I’ll Be There for You’ so many times it left him feeling miserable.
The actor also explained that his distaste for the song developed during a period when he was grappling with the overwhelming fame that followed ‘Friends’ massive success.
David, who appeared in all 10 seasons of the show, said he could pinpoint the moment his anonymity slipped away.
He said: “Jim Burroughs (the ‘Friends’ director) took the cast to Vegas… this was before we were on the air.
“We were walking through the casino at one point, and he said, ‘Remember this moment, it’s the last time you’re going to be able to walk through a casino like this.’”
For David, that moment of clarity came just a few months later when the fame hit him full force.
He said: “The moment that I realised Jim Burroughs was right, I was at LAX… so I’m going through… I hear a blood-curdling scream.
“I was genuinely frightened. I thought someone was being stabbed or something. And a group of girls come and like – like literally just scream and grab me. And they won’t let me go.”
Despite his initial discomfort with his fame and the constant reminders of the show, David’s feelings toward Friends have softened in recent years – thanks, in part, to his daughter.
He added: “I never watched the show after we finished it.
“Then my kid discovered it around age nine or something, and started watching it. And I’d be making breakfast or whatever, and I’d hear my kid’s laughter. My whole relationship to that song and to the show changed again.”
David Schwimmer went through a phrase of not being able to bear hearing the ‘Friends’ theme tune
