David Schwimmer stars as Ross Geller in NBC’s comedy series ‘Friends’ Warner Bros. Television/Getty Images
Working on Friends wasn’t all fun and games for TV writer Patty Lin — but David Schwimmer’s on-set demeanor did ease her stress.
Lin — who was part of the Friends writing team during season 7 — recalled Schwimmer’s kind gesture in her new memoir, End Credits: How I Broke Up With Hollywood.
“I escaped from the dreaded huddle and stepped onto the set, joining the rowdy mob packed into the hallway,” Lin penned of the time she was an extra during season 7’s “The One With All the Candy,” which aired in 2000. “David Schwimmer, who was directing the episode, came over to give instructions.”
Lin vividly remembered Schwimmer — who played Ross Geller — telling her, “Patty, can you scooch closer to the door?” She wrote, “I scooched, thrilled that instead of saying, ‘Hey, you,’ Schwimmer addressed me by name.”
David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston’s Cutest Quotes About Each Other
David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston stole hearts as Ross Geller and Rachel Green, respectively, during their 10 seasons on Friends — but the duo had a bond outside of the series as well. The pair dropped a bombshell on fans during the May 2021 Friends reunion when they revealed that they both had feelings for […]
Despite knowing the actors from table reads and shooting schedules, she explained that it was Schwimmer’s kindness that made her finally feel seen.
“Really, it takes so little for a celebrity to seem like a decent person,” she wrote. “That night was the high point of my Friends experience. For once, I felt like I had something to do with the show.”
Patty Lin Courtesy of Patty Lin/Instagram
Shortly before Lin stepped in as an extra on the episode, she got the stamp of approval for one of her jokes. Lin told readers that the Friends joke huddle was “by far the most stressful part of the job,” especially because she was a drama writer by trade.
However, while taping “The One With the Candy,” a Christmas episode in which Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) put out holiday treats for the whole building, Lin won over Friends cocreator Marta Kauffman with her one-liner.
TV Stars Who’ve Directed Their Own Shows Over the Years
Action! Cynthia Nixon, Ian Somerhalder and more TV stars have taken on more than one responsibility while filming their shows. Nixon revealed in October 2021 that she directed an episode of And Just Like That, the Sex and the City revival set to debut on HBO Max later that year. “It’s been a complete dream […]
When Chandler asks Monica why she made candy for the whole apartment, she says, “We can learn their names and get to know our neighbors.” When Chandler’s initial response “did not garner the side splitting laughter required,” according to Lin, she pitched he say, “Wouldn’t it be easier if we just moved?”
Matt Le Blanc, Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer in ‘Friends’ Warner Bros. Television/Getty Images
Lin described Kauffman’s response as letting out a “full-throated laugh, which in that moment was the most wonderful sound [she’d] ever heard.”
While Lin enjoyed working under Schwimmer’s direction — and getting a good joke into the episode — she noted that most of the time the actors’ input was not helpful.
TV Shows and Movies That’ll Give You the Fall Feels: ‘Gilmore Girls,’ More
Sweater weather is upon Us! The leaves are changing colors, pumpkin spice is everywhere and autumn movies are on our must-watch list. While some fans are blasting Taylor Swift’s Folklore album from their cars on their way to the pumpkin patch, others are cozying up with their favorite blanket to watch their go-to fall-inspired TV shows and films. In […]
“They rarely had anything positive to say, and when they brought up problems, they didn’t suggest feasible solutions,” she claimed of the lead stars’ complaints about the scripts from day to day. “Seeing themselves as the characters, they often argued that they would never do or say such-and-such. … The cast behaved as if they weren’t just Big Stars but also Serious Actors — even though Friends was never going to be Citizen Kane.”
Friends — which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 — starred Schwimmer, 56, Cox, 59, Perry, 54, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc. Lin, for her part, worked on the show for just one season but later wrote for Desperate Housewives and Breaking Bad before retiring from TV writing in 2008.
End Credits: How I Broke Up With Hollywood is on bookshelves now — and available to purchase here.