I think the other honest attraction was that I just grew up loving watching TV and loving watching film, and there's so many directors and actors that I dreamed of working with, I just really wanted to take a crack at it and see if I could ever work with some of those.
David SchwimmerI find America falling in love with a TV show flattering and interesting, but at the same time a little sad.
David SchwimmerI think a huge amount of it is because of the Internet. Every single thing in the world is accessible with a few clicks. Almost every child, by the age of 13, has seen pornography. That's clearly different. It used to be really hard or really humiliating, as a 13-year-old, to access pornography. If you wanted to take a look at a Playboy, it was really challenging. Today, it's a joke.
David SchwimmerIf I'm going to do something, I really put everything into it and I want it to mean something to me.
David SchwimmerI like to challenge myself. I like to learn - so I like to try new things and try to keep growing.
David SchwimmerI don't think I responded very well to the sudden celebrity, the sudden fame, and the loss of privacy.
David SchwimmerSometimes I've felt that the industry has typecast me as a certain kind of character. But then I think all it really takes is one role, the right role, to shake that up and change that perception.
David SchwimmerI try to educate myself as much as possible, as I do with the director and the designers and everyone I used to work with. It just helps, I think, with the frame of reference for who you're working with.
David SchwimmerBeing generous or doing things for others actually makes me feel good so I don't do it because I hope karma will come round and get me and I'll benefit from it.
David SchwimmerIf there's something I want, I go for it. I just think about how I'm going to go for it.
David SchwimmerDirecting takes a lot longer than acting. This was about seven years in development, and then two and a half years with pre-production, production, post and now the release. Not that I have people banging on my door to star in movies, but it takes me out of the acting game for a longer chunk of time.
David SchwimmerCan I tell you how strange it is to look in your rearview mirror and see guys in cars tailing you?
David SchwimmerWhen you see Liana [Liberato], who at the time was 14, there is an inexperience and innocence that you can't act and you can't fake.
David SchwimmerAnd the thing is, every time you start a new show or do a new series, you're committing to another six years.
David SchwimmerThere are certain pressures and things that change your life to a degree that, in the cost benefit analysis that constantly goes on, sometimes makes you think, 'Maybe I should just leave.
David SchwimmerWith the success of the last three or so years, when a lot of people start treating you differently, there's a danger that you may start to think of yourself differently. You rely on your friends to say, 'Hey, wake up!
David SchwimmerI had invited 50 or 60 peers and friends, most of whom were parents, to see the film [Trust], and I asked about the last scene. It was interesting because it was split right down the middle, 50/50. About half the audience wanted it to end with the very emotional scene between Clive and Liana, and that feeling of realization and catharsis. And, the other half were adamant about keeping that last scene.
David SchwimmerThere are days when I think: what if I just checked out? What if I grew a beard and went off to live somewhere remote? I have often wondered about the freedom that would bring.
David SchwimmerIt was really interesting to be editing the film [Trust] in New York and directing the play in Chicago, and one definitely informed the other. The play probably benefitted more because I realized what scenes could be cut, and I cut those scenes from the play.
David SchwimmerMy parents from a very young age raised my sister and I under a pressure to achieve. Theyre both attorneys. So good marks, getting through university, there was a huge emphasis and pressure to do well and keep going.
David SchwimmerAnd, again, I'm the first one to say that I'm not going be successful at everything.
David SchwimmerI didn't want to be a victim of my own message [in Trust film]. I didn't want to take advantage of a 14-year-old actor. I didn't want there to be any nudity, or any real overt violence. I think it's more terrifying that there is no violence, in that moment. There's control and there's power, but there's no violence.
David SchwimmerWhen I was six years old, my parents took me to this farmers' market with a petting zoo. They put me on a pony and, for some reason, it took off at a run and they had to chase it down. They tell me it was kind of traumatic.
David SchwimmerIf someone doesn't believe enough in your product to put money in to it, then you should rethink how good the product is.
David SchwimmerI think I'm a very very nice director. Very supportive, very nurturing. I definitely try to challenge my actors but I think I'm very supportive.
David SchwimmerI think it was really crucial that the actress was age appropriate. There are films, such as An Education, where that wasn't the case, and I think that really affects how you receive what you're watching.
David SchwimmerIf I were given a choice between two films and one was dark and explored depraved, troubled or sick aspects of our culture, I would always opt for that over the next romantic comedy.
David SchwimmerI love helping someone else tell their story, but I like being the storyteller sometimes.
David SchwimmerAt this age - I'm 44 - I think life's too short. I want it to mean something to me, if I'm going to spend that much time doing it.
David Schwimmer