David Schwimmer opened up about getting an offer to star in one of the most popular movies of the decade, Men in Black. However, the actor turned down the movie starring Will Smith.
In a conversation with Cush Jumbo on his podcast, Schwimmer claimed that he has no regrets over his decision of not doing the film, believing that working in the film would have boosted his film career. Opening up about the reason for rejecting the film, the actor revealed that the project was clashing with his dates from Friends.
This 1997 film starred Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in the lead roles. Upon its theatrical release, Smith became a star in the film industry, while Will was already a legend in Hollywood.
Speaking to the podcast host, the Madagascar actor shared, “(It was) a brutal decision.” He further added, “I had just finished shooting my first movie The Pallbearer with Gwyneth Paltrow, and there were a lot of expectations from that, which didn’t come true (laughs). It kind of bombed, but there were a lot of expectations and the studio, which was Miramax, wanted to lock me into a three-picture deal at a certain price and I said if I got the chance to direct my first movie I would do it.”
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Schwimmer further explained that he negotiated with the production house to allow the actor to direct his entire theater company for the film, and that he would star in three of the studio’s upcoming films. “These are all unknown actors, but I was basically going to put them on the map. I was going to let everyone discover the talent of this amazing company,” the Tangled actor said.
The Wonder Years actor further explained that they got a great script and the film went into its pre-production stage. While everything went well, the film still did not do well at the box office. The actor recalled that the film’s post-production overlapped with Men in Black and hence it did not attract as many audiences as they expected.
Talking about his decision to back out of the Will Smith-starring film, Schwimmer claimed, “Look, I know for a fact, 20 years later, maybe more, (Men in Black) would have made me a movie star,” he added. “If you look at the success of that movie and that franchise, my career would have gone in a very different direction.”
Meanwhile, David and his five other co-stars got a good taste of success with their famous sitcom Friends which came in 1994. The show was aired in several countries and was watched by millions of viewers.
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