David Schwimmer Looks Back on Having to Say No to ‘Men in Black’: 'That Was a Brutal Decision'
The role went on to be played by Will Smith in the 1997 film.
David Schwimmer discussed the wholesome reason why he turned down a role in Men in Black.
The 57-year-old Friends actor made an appearance on the Origins with Cush Jumbo podcast published on Tuesday where he discussed walking away from the role of Agent J, which would go on to be played by Will Smith.
“That was a brutal decision. 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 said at the 39:05 mark linked here.
“But there were high expectations and the studio, which was Miramax, wanted to lock me into a three-picture deal at a certain, at a fixed price and I said I would do that if I got to direct my first movie,” he added.
Schwimmer was able to get in writing that he would direct Lookingglass Theater Company, a theater company he co-founded with friends he made during his time at Northwestern University in 1988, for his directorial debut.
“All these unknown actors, but I was gonna put them on the map basically. I was gonna let everyone discover the talent of this amazing company,” Schwimmer said.
However, things took a turn when the film entered pre-production. Schwimmer received an offer to star in Men in Black during his four-month summer window of Friends’ shooting schedule. Accepting the role would have put him in direct conflict with directing the film with his 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 gonna be a six-week shoot in Chicago,” he noted.
While Schwimmer realized it was “an amazing opportunity,” he ultimately decided to follow his heart. However, the success of the film is not lost on him.
“I'm really aware whatever twenty years later, maybe more, that would have made me, I think, a movie star,” he confessed. “If you look at the success of that film and that franchise, my career… probably would have taken a very different trajectory. However, my theater company and that relationship with all those people would probably have ended.”
Schwimmer proceeded to make the film with the members of his Lookingglass company, the 1998 made-for-TV movie, Since You’ve Been Gone. As noted by AV Club, one of the film’s stars, Lara Flynn Boyle, went on to appear as Serleena in the first Men in Black sequel in 2002.
