David Schwimmer recalls 'brutal' decision to reject Men in Black lead role

David Schwimmer has admitted turning down a lead role in Men in Black was a "brutal" decision.

The actor appeared on the Origins with Cush Jumbo podcast recently and recalled how rejecting the chance to star in the 1997 action movie proved a costly mistake. Schwimmer explained he chose to direct his first film instead.

"It was a brutal decision," the star revealed. "I had just finished filming The Pallbearer, my first film with Gwyneth Paltrow.

"It was kind of a bomb but there were high expectations and the studio, which was Miramax, wanted to lock me into a three-picture deal at a fixed price and I said I would do that if I got to direct my first movie."

Schwimmer went on to explain that shooting on Men in Black would have worked with his summer break from filming Friends but was a "direct conflict" with his directorial duties on Since You've Been Gone.

The actor also shared that many of his friends were involved in the directing project and he didn't want to let anyone down, so he passed on Men in Black - with the role later going to Will Smith.

"My summer window from Friends was four months... Men in Black was going to shoot exactly when I was going to direct this film with my company," he recalled. "And of course, it was an amazing opportunity. However, my theatre company and that relationship with all those people would probably have ended."

Since You've Been Gone was due for a cinema release, but eventually premiered as a TV movie on ABC in 1998.

"Look, I'm really aware... Men in Black would have made me a movie star," he added. "If you look at the success of that film and that franchise, my career would have taken a very different trajectory."