Finding the Human in the Comedy: Director David Schwimmer Balances Funny and Bittersweet in Run, Fat Boy, Run

David Schwimmer ushers in a second act of his career in his directorial debut Run, Fat Boy, Run, the London-set tale of a hapless security guard (Simon Pegg) trying to woo back the affections of the true love (Thandie Newton) he stranded at the altar five years prior. When a seemingly perfect cad (Hank Azaria) intervenes and threatens to play step-dad to his son (Matthew Fenton), he launches an ambitious plan to bring her to her senses—running a long-distance marathon in an effort to right past wrongs and become a grown-up in the process. In Run, Fat Boy, Run, nice guys finish last and with virtue.

As expected, Schwimmer the director displays a confident grasp on the film’s many comic zingers. Yet surprisingly, he also informs the film with a bittersweet human comedy of a father trying to do right by those he loves. Both Schwimmer and star Pegg balance comedy and drama in a film that knows the value of scaling its slapstick down, and people up.

I first met Schwimmer in 2005 as the star of the indie drama Dwayne Hopwood, surprised by his frank vulnerability in that picture which featured an arresting portrait of alcoholism and broken marriage. That film was an ambitious departure from his past work, and when we caught up recently to discuss his latest departure—as a film director—it was clear that the former star of Friends is experiencing an artistic liberation.

Lee Shoquist: You saw many, many scripts before you chose to direct Run, Fatboy Run. Why this one?

David Schwimmer: I was reading a lot of scripts, both comedies and dramas. The dramas were good but not great, and I’m starting out as a director so I wasn’t exactly getting the cream of the crop. And when this script came across my desk, I felt like there must be a mistake somewhere. I thought it was really solid and funny, and found myself laughing out loud during the read, which was rare for me. Then I read it again and thought there was something about it that was challenging for me as a first time director—there were kind of three genres in one.

It was this great physical comedy, and then romance and drama. I thought the whole thing with his son was great drama and some good acting moments. And then it is kind of like a sports movie; a comic Rocky. As a director, I was also attracted to how it starts as this small, character-driven film and then becomes this big movie by the end, which I thought was challenging.

LS: I get the feeling you have wanted to direct a feature for a long time.

DS: Forever. I started in high school actually doing theater and then in college, and then with Lookingglass, and I always wanted to direct a movie so I tried to learn on movie sets by watching. Even when I wasn’t in a scene, I would stand and watch the director.

LS: So you sort of learn by osmosis.

DS: Yeah, I think you do. And by asking questions when they are not too intrusive. I would talk to the grips and the sound guy. If you ask the right questions, you learn a lot that way. I started mentoring with Jim Burrows who directed a lot of television, like Friends, Cheers and Taxi. I said, "I really want to do this some day. Can I mentor with you?" He taught me a lot. And then little by little, after directing a dozen episodes of friends and some pilots for NBC and Fox, I started to build up confidence behind the camera.

LS: Obviously a big transition with new challenges.

DS: The biggest challenge was being on location—over fifty in thirty-five days—and with no money. Anytime you have no money it’s a challenge. It was a big budget script with an indie budget.

LS: Yet the finished film has a polish that looks like it had a budget.

DS: It does, right? It’s because of the cinematographer, who did a great job. He and I were really fast and we wouldn’t compromise performance, but as soon as we got the right take we would hustle. Some days we were doing thirty-five set-ups, which is an extraordinary amount! Our average was three or four takes. Simon is best in his first couple of takes. Anything after that starts to get forced by the sixth or eighth take. He is golden on the first few takes and those are usually often his best.

LS: Yet he almost wasn’t in the film because it was originally set in Manhattan.

DS: It was written around the New York Marathon. This company it was with had a bunch of movies on their slate and it seemed to be falling through the cracks. I was pitching American actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti, before Capote and Sideways.

LS: That was a long time ago.

DS: Yes, it was. And I was getting frustrated. I was actually acting with Simon on this tiny movie called Big Nothing. And I got word that the script was bought by a British company. No one told me. Suddenly, I was directing a British comedy. At this point, I thought, "This is ridiculous. Not only have I been waiting two years to get it made, I now have to find someone to re-write the script to make it British." And then suddenly I thought of Simon, because he is a writer, and I asked him to do the re-write, and if he wanted to do it. We were friends and so it was kind of uncomfortable, but he was perfect for it.

LS: Explain your dynamic with him.

DS: We had so much fun and great chemistry together and the same work ethic. When I started the directing process we already had shorthand with each other. I literally would just say one word, and he would say, "Got it." And he would totally give me a whole new thing and direction in a scene.

LS: There are very different styles of comedy here and I’m wondering if there were moments during the shoot when it may have seemed not as funny as what we see onscreen. How do you know in those moments when it isn’t working?

DS: We all know right away if something is not funny. The actors feel I first. If you are a comic actor, you know. The challenge then is hopefully you know and trust each other well enough to call it what it is. You just talk about it, think on your feet and then find it. Simon is just f**cking hilarious. It was more for me with another actor, Dylan Moran, who plays his best mate. Dylan is a genius but when we were shooting, I thought he was not giving me enough energy and performance.

LS: Too deadpan?

DS: Yeah, too deadpan. I would give him direction about more energy here or there. And he would refuse and do his own thing, and I was like, "All right, whatever." Sure enough, in the editing room I looked at the footage and was like, "This guy is a fucking genius." He was so right, and I was so wrong. He nailed it. He had a handle on this guy. That was a good learning experience for me. This actor trusted in himself and I never got angry with him, and it really served the film.

LS: And then you have Thandie Newton playing the straight man to these crazy guys.

DS: Unfortunately, as with most comedies today, most of the funny was with the guys. There were some moments where we gave her fun. She is terrific.

LS: Hank Azaria is very capable here. His character, Whit, is difficult to read and not easy to categorize. For example, at the beginning of the film we are almost leaning in his favor. Perhaps Dennis’ son is really better with his step-dad. He gives this role more dimensions than may be on the page.

DS: You’re right. We re-wrote it with that in mind. From page one, the character of Whit was just a pr*ck but it was less interesting and he was not a serious threat. We wanted to make him a viable option for Thandie. Hank was my first choice from day one. And Hank’s performance is just so subtly like layers of an onion falling away, where little by little you reveal him.

LS: You mentioned doing a bit of re-writing as you went to make the film suit your vision.

DS: The film is pretty much what the script was, but I think a little better. I pushed the drama a little and embellished the relationship with Simon and the son. We shot more than what was on the page. We wanted the audience to see what a great father he is and that he would do anything for his son. Once you see that this guy a real heart, I thought you would invest more and he would be more credible.

We re-wrote the role of the landlord, Mr. Ghoshdashtidar. I knew Harish Patel, one of the comic geniuses of all time. The little boy was a godsend. I auditioned eighty kids, and Matthew Fenton was unbelievable and a real kid, not a child actor. We got really lucky.

We had the luxury of having Hank and Simon table read for a week before we shot, so we would read the scenes and that is when we do a lot of the re-writing and figure out the beats. By the time we went to shoot, the scenes were pretty good. Once we got it, I said, "Let’s play. Don’t feel bound to the script anymore. Have fun." With all of them, I gave them that freedom to play.

But the challenge was how in the world you can ask the audience to invest in a guy who is humping a mannequin and then in tears later when he finds his son at the top of a hill. I put it all on Simon. You have to have an actor who can do both, and create a character who is not so broad that he isn’t real person.

LS: That is because he hits the notes in between that link the two extremes, such as in a short scene where he enters his messy flat, and just sort of stands there looking at what he has—or hasn’t—got at this point in his life. It’s bittersweet.

DS: That’s exactly right.

LS: Where do you want to see yourself go next as a director?

DS: I’d love to direct a dramatic thriller. I don’t think I’m the kind of guy who will be doing horror or science fiction. I love to see them, but I am not that guy. I am interested in character-driven stuff.

LS: How about as an actor? I remember during Duane Hopwood we met with audiences who really responded to you in that role, as a down-on-his luck alcoholic losing his wife and kids.

DS: I would love to. I’m not the first guy they consider for those parts. I would love to be. But I think it’s just going to take more paying my dues. Maybe I will at some point. I thought Band of Brothers would turn it around. I just did a nice little dramatic role playing Kate Beckinsale’s husband in this new movie by Rod Lurie, a political thriller. I’m not the first guy they think of to play the psychopath. I think I would rock it out! But I get it. I’m just plugging away.

LS: I guess it is the consequence of being so definitive as Ross. Was that a blessing or baggage?

DS: Definitely a blessing. I’m really proud of that show and the work we did. It gave us all this incredible gift of financial freedom to do other projects, like support my theater.

LS: How do you feel about American comedies today?

DS: I don’t mind some of the broad ones, but I don’t feel myself caring so much about the people. The comedies I really love are those that I am really moved by the situation or struggle. I prefer films that I am emotionally invested in. Those are the kind of movies I want to make.

I think we worked hard in the re-write, and tweaked some of the relationships and characters to make it a more human, emotional movie. It’s kind of unusual for a British comedy because they are not as comfortable with emotion. If there is a moment that is vulnerable or exposed, they immediately undercut it with a joke.

LS: Dennis has a lot to prove in this film. What do you have to prove at this point in your career?

DS: Well, I don’t know. It’s weird. Someone asked me the other day how what I am doing now is different from when I started. And I realized that it is not. I have the same goals as I did twenty years ago when I graduated from Northwestern. I want to act and direct in theater and film with people who inspire me, and work with other great actors and directors. Since the show ended I am not out to prove anything, except to myself. I still have a lot more goals for myself, but I’m less concerned at my age—41—with the whole industry perception thing as I was years ago.

LS: Do you feel secure in the industry today, if there is such a thing?

DS: Not even sure, but just at peace with it. The odds are that I am not going to win an Academy Award. The odds are I am not going to be the star opening a hundred million-dollar movie as the lead. Those are the odds.

LS: Were those ever goals?

DS: I think that was the fantasy; the dream that every young actor has. Yes. The odds are against both of those things. I still love what I am doing and I want to grow and be a better actor and director and work on better scripts. So that’s it really. I’m just plugging away. I really hope to be doing it for forty or fifty more years.

-Lee Shoquist