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David Schwimmer, forever known to millions as the lovable and neurotic Ross Geller from Friends, recently got candid about the surprising emotional weight of the show’s iconic theme song. During an appearance on the Making a Scene podcast hosted by Matt Lucas and David Walliams, Schwimmer opened up about how distancing himself from the sitcom became a necessary act of self-care.
“For me, it’s like, I did it, I’m moving on,” Schwimmer explained. While many fans happily revisit reruns of Friends, Schwimmer admitted he didn’t rewatch the series after it ended. And it wasn’t just the episodes—he avoided even hearing that song.
Yes, that song. “I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts—the anthem of a generation, but also, for Schwimmer, a lingering echo of a chapter he’d closed. “I’ll be really honest,” he sighed. “There was a time for quite a while that just hearing the theme song would really…” He trailed off, clearly implying a mix of emotional fatigue and overstimulation. “I had just heard it so many times.”
Lucas quipped, “Well, no one told you life was going to be that way,” riffing off the song’s famously clappy lyrics. Schwimmer chuckled but acknowledged that being reintroduced to the song constantly during press appearances and interviews only deepened his aversion.
However, life—and laughter—had a way of shifting his perspective.
Years later, Schwimmer’s daughter, whom he shares with ex-wife Zoë Buckman, discovered Friends on her own around age nine. Suddenly, that once-overplayed theme became the soundtrack to his daughter’s joy.
“I’d be making breakfast or whatever, and I’d hear my kid’s laughter,” Schwimmer said warmly. “My whole relationship to that song and the show changed again.”
Running from 1994 to 2004, Friends became a cultural juggernaut that defined sitcom television and etched its characters into pop culture history. And while Schwimmer once needed distance from Ross Geller and all things Central Perk, it seems that laughter—especially from the next generation—has brought him full circle.