David Schwimmer made a career choice that still haunts him.
The “Friends” alum, 57, said on Tuesday’s episode of the “Origins With Cush Jumbo” podcast that he turned down a role in 1997’s “Men in Black,” which caused him to never reach “movie star” status.
“That was a brutal decision,” Schwimmer recalled. “I had just finished filming ‘The Pallbearer,’ my first film with Gwyneth Paltrow, and there were high expectations of that which didn’t come true. It was kind of a bomb.”
Schwimmer explained that Miramax had “high expectations” of him at the time, so the studio ended up locking him into a deal where he could direct his entire Lookingglass Theatre Company in a movie.
“We found this amazing script and we were developing it,” he said. “We started preproduction. All my best friends in the world in my theater company quit their jobs so they could be in this film over the summer, which was going to be a six-week shoot in Chicago.”
However, the filming schedule for Schwimmer’s directorial debut, 1998’s “Since You’ve Been Gone,” conflicted with the production of “Men in Black,” forcing the actor to choose between the two projects.
“My summer window from ‘Friends’ was four months. I had a four-month hiatus and ‘Men in Black’ was going to shoot exactly when I was going to direct this film with my company. And, of course, it was an amazing opportunity,” he said. “However, my theater company and that relationship with all those people would probably have ended. I don’t think it would have recovered.”
“You have to follow your gut. You have to follow your heart,” Schwimmer went on. “Look, I’m really aware, whatever 20 years later, maybe more, [‘Men in Black’] would have made me a movie star. If you look at the success of that film and that franchise, my career would have taken a very different trajectory.”
Despite being so many years removed from the decision, Schwimmer admitted, “I don’t know if I made the right choice.”
“Since You’ve Been Gone” was supposed to come out in theaters in 1997. Instead, Miramax released it in 1998 as a made-for-television movie on ABC.
Meanwhile, “Men in Black” starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones made more than $580 million worldwide upon its theatrical release in 1997. It was also nominated for three Oscars and won for Best Makeup.
The sci-fi action comedy film spawned three sequels that came out in 2002, 2012 and 2019. Smith, 55, and Jones, 78, returned for the first two movies.
Despite not taking the “Men in Black” job, Schwimmer has still done good work in Hollywood since “Friends” ended in 2004. He voiced Melman in the “Madagascar” movies and played Robert Kardashian in the “People v. O.J. Simpson” miniseries, which earned him an Emmy nomination.
However, his success pales in comparison to that of his “Friends” co-star Jennifer Aniston, who has been in many box office winning movies such as “We’re the Millers,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Just Go With It” and “Along Came Polly.”
Schwimmer’s net worth is $120 million, while Aniston’s is $300 million.