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Only one member of the main cast of “Friends” directed episodes of the NBC comedy during its original run: David Schwimmer, who helmed 10 installments over the show’s last five seasons.
Schwimmer began directing on “Friends” in 1999 with the Season 6 episode “The One on the Last Night,” becoming the only principal cast member to step behind the camera while the sitcom was still on the air. He would go on to direct nine additional episodes — “The One With Rachel’s Assistant” (Season 7, Episode 4), “The One With Ross’s Library Book” (Season 7, Episode 7), “The One With All the Candy” (Season 7, Episode 9), “The One With the Truth About London” (Season 7, Episode 16), “The One With the Red Sweater” (Season 8, Episode 2), “The One With the Stripper” (Season 8, Episode 8), “The One Where Joey Dates Rachel” (Season 8, Episode 12), “The One With Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner” (Season 9, Episode 5), and “The One With the Birth Mother” (Season 10, Episode 9) — before the series ended in May 2004.
Prior to directing on “Friends,” Schwimmer made his directorial debut with the 1998 ABC TV-movie “Since You’ve Been Gone,” in which he also starred. After “Friends,” he continued directing in television and film, including two episodes of the spin-off “Joey,” single episodes of the short-lived NBC comedies “The Tracy Morgan Show” and “Growing Up Fisher,” and feature films “Run Fatboy Run” and “Trust.”
While other members of the “Friends” cast later moved into directing on other series and projects — including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox (who helmed 12 episodes of “Cougar Town”), and Matthew Perry (who directed an episode of “Scrubs” in which he also appeared) — Schwimmer was the only actor to take on directing duties while the must-see TV classic was still in production.
