David Schwimmer reflects on ‘brutal decision’ to turn down ‘Men in Black’

David Schwimmer looked back on his brutal decision to pass Men in Black, which would be a career game-changer.

On Tuesday, September 17, The Hollywood Reporter published that the Friends star was asked during the recent episode of the Origins with Cush Jumbo podcast if he turned down the 1997 blockbuster franchise due to a clash with his critically acclaimed 10-season sitcom.

The actor and director clarified that wasn’t the reason; instead, he opted to pursue his directorial debut.

"[It] was a brutal decision," Schwimmer, 57, admitted, recalling what led to that choice.

"We found this amazing script and we were developing it. We started pre-production,” the Intelligence actor recalled, referring to his 1998 movie Since You've Been Gone. "All my best friends in the world in my theatre 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, his production for his directorial debut ended up overlapping with Men in Black filming, leading Schwimmer to make a difficult career decision.

"We’re in pre-production, hired the whole crew, everything’s going and that’s when I was offered Men in Black," the Six Days Seven Nights actor recalled. "It was a direct conflict with this."

"And, of course, it was an amazing opportunity," he continued. "However, my theatre company and that relationship with all those people would probably have ended. I don’t think it would have recovered.”

Though Schwimmer expressed uncertainty about whether turning down Men in Black was the right decision, he emphasises the importance of following one's gut and heart in such situations.

Schwimmer acknowledged that starring in the film, which ultimately featured Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in the lead roles, could have made him a movie star, "If you look at the success of that film and that franchise, my career would have taken a very different trajectory."