David Schwimmer Admits 'Friends' Nearly Ruined His Life

David Schwimmer became an overnight celebrity playing Ross in Friends, one of the most popular TV sitcoms of all time, but he claims it nearly ruined his life.

When Friends was at it's peak, the 49-year-old actor, along with Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston were raking in $1 million each per episode.

All six actors became household names, but Schwimmer admits it was something he struggled with.

As he told The Hollywood Reporter: "It was pretty jarring and it messed with my relationship to other people in a way that took years, I think, for me to adjust to and become comfortable with."

Schwimmer also explained that it actually affected his ability to do his job properly.

"As an actor, the way I was trained, my job was to observe life and to observe other people, so I used to walk around with my head up, really engaged and watching people," he said.

"The effect of celebrity was the absolute opposite: it made me want to hide under a baseball cap and not be seen. I realised that after a while I was no longer watching people; I was trying to hide."

"I was trying to figure out: How do I be an actor in this new world, in this new situation? How do I do my job? That was tricky," he explained.

Schwimmer also made the surprising admission that he was originally offered the part of Will Smith's 'Agent J' in Men In Black.

Read the full story at nzherald.co.nz