David Schwimmer Admits Turning DownMen in BlackRole Was 'Brutal Decision': 'You Have to Follow Your Gut'

Mar. 15, 2025

David Schwimmer and Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black 3.Photo:Gotham/FilmMagic, Alamy

Gotham/FilmMagic, Alamy

David Schwimmeris getting candid about opting against taking aMen in Blackrole.During an appearance on theOrigins with Cush Jumbopodcast, the actor-director recalled to hostCush Jumbothat he was offered one of the leading roles in 1997’sMen in Blackat the exact same time he planned to direct his first movie, 1998’sSince You’ve Been Gone.“So that was a brutal decision,” Schwimmer recalled, explaining the opportunity came just after he finished filming 1996’sThe PallbearerwithGwyneth Paltrow, one of his first major roles outside ofFriends.“There were high expectations of that, which didn’t come true,” he said with a laugh. “It was kind of a bomb. But there were high expectations and the studio, which was Miramax, wanted to lock me into a three-picture deal at a fixed price and I said I would do that if I got to direct my first movie.“Schwimmer said after months of negotiations, he and Miramax agreed he would act in three additional movies for the studio and he would direct actors from his own theater company.“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,” he recalled.Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black 3.AlamyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Schwimmer’s offer to star inMen in Black, the sci-fi action blockbuster that ultimately starredWill SmithandTommy Lee Jones, came just as he was finalizing pre-production forSince You’ve Been Gone.“It was a direct conflict with — this was my summer window fromFriends, I had a four-month hiatus, andMen in Blackwas going to shoot exactly when I was going to direct this film with my company.““Of course it was an amazing opportunity,” theLittle Deathactor added. “I mean, you have to follow your gut, you have to follow your heart. And look, I mean I’m really aware — whatever, 20 years later, maybe more — that would have made me, I think, a movie star. If you look at the success of that film and that franchise, I would — my career might have taken a very different trajectory.“David Schwimmer.Ian West/PA Images via GettyWhile Schwimmer did admit on the podcast that he is not sure “if I made the right choice,” he noted that his friends at the theater company (the actor co-founded Chicago’sLookingglass Theatre Companyin the ’90s) may never have forgiven him for skipping out onSince You’ve Been Gone"My theater company and that relationship with all of those people would probably have ended. I don’t think it would have recovered,” he said. “I mean, those people had quit their jobs to do that movie.”

David Schwimmeris getting candid about opting against taking aMen in Blackrole.

During an appearance on theOrigins with Cush Jumbopodcast, the actor-director recalled to hostCush Jumbothat he was offered one of the leading roles in 1997’sMen in Blackat the exact same time he planned to direct his first movie, 1998’sSince You’ve Been Gone.

“So that was a brutal decision,” Schwimmer recalled, explaining the opportunity came just after he finished filming 1996’sThe PallbearerwithGwyneth Paltrow, one of his first major roles outside ofFriends.

“There were high expectations of that, which didn’t come true,” he said with a laugh. “It was kind of a bomb. But there were high expectations and the studio, which was Miramax, wanted to lock me into a three-picture deal at a fixed price and I said I would do that if I got to direct my first movie.”

Schwimmer said after months of negotiations, he and Miramax agreed he would act in three additional movies for the studio and he would direct actors from his own theater company.

“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,” he recalled.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black 3.Alamy

Alamy

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Schwimmer’s offer to star inMen in Black, the sci-fi action blockbuster that ultimately starredWill SmithandTommy Lee Jones, came just as he was finalizing pre-production forSince You’ve Been Gone.

“It was a direct conflict with — this was my summer window fromFriends, I had a four-month hiatus, andMen in Blackwas going to shoot exactly when I was going to direct this film with my company.”

“Of course it was an amazing opportunity,” theLittle Deathactor added. “I mean, you have to follow your gut, you have to follow your heart. And look, I mean I’m really aware — whatever, 20 years later, maybe more — that would have made me, I think, a movie star. If you look at the success of that film and that franchise, I would — my career might have taken a very different trajectory.”

David Schwimmer.Ian West/PA Images via Getty

While Schwimmer did admit on the podcast that he is not sure “if I made the right choice,” he noted that his friends at the theater company (the actor co-founded Chicago’sLookingglass Theatre Companyin the ’90s) may never have forgiven him for skipping out onSince You’ve Been Gone

“My theater company and that relationship with all of those people would probably have ended. I don’t think it would have recovered,” he said. “I mean, those people had quit their jobs to do that movie.”

source: people.com