The Unexpected Connection Between Friends and Band of Brothers: How Ross Spoke Schwimmer's Character Into Existence

The Foreshadowing in Friends

Two years before David Schwimmer starred in Band of Brothers, one Ross storyline in Friends season 5 indirectly foreshadowed the actor's appearance in the World War II miniseries. Schwimmer's breakout role was playing nerdy paleontologist Ross Geller, one of the six main characters on the hit sitcom Friends. Schwimmer starred in Friends for its entire 10-season run from 1994 to 2004.

Ross (David Schwimmer) & Joey (Matt LeBlanc) sitting on the couch at Central Perk in Friends season 5, episode 20 "The One with the Ride-Along."

During this time, he also starred in one of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks's World War II TV shows, Band of Brothers. Based on Stephen E. Ambrose's book of the same name, the HBO miniseries follows the Easy Company during World War II. Schwimmer played Captain Sobel in Band of Brothers, the company's training leader. On the surface, Ross and Sobel don't have much in common, but in one season 5 episode of Friends, Ross makes an offhand comment that unintentionally spoke Schwimmer's Army character into existence years before Band of Brothers aired.

Ross (David Schwimmer), Chandler (Matthew Perry) & Gary (Michael Rapaport) in a cop car in Friends

The Foreshadowing Moment in Friends

In Friends season 5, episode 20, 'The One with the Ride-Along,' Phoebe's police officer boyfriend, Gary, takes Ross, Chandler, and Joey for a ride in his cop car. During the ride-along, the men hear a loud noise that sounds like a gunshot, and Joey lunges over Ross, seemingly to protect him from getting shot. The noise turns out to be the sound of a car backfiring nearby, but Ross still regards the incident as a near-death experience. At the end of the episode, Ross asks Phoebe if Gary has ever actually been shot at, which leads him to wonder how he'd react under 'heavy fire...in a war or something.'

Captain Herbert Sobel (David Schimmer) in his uniform in Band of Brothers

Two years after this Friends episode aired in 1999, Schwimmer took on the role of Captain Sobel in Band of Brothers. Sobel's portrayal in Band of Brothers is not particularly flattering, as he comes off as deeply unlikable, petty, and borderline tyrannical toward his troops. At the same time, he's also shown to be cowardly and uncoordinated on the battlefield. In a way, Schwimmer's role as the soldier Sobel in Band of Brothers revealed exactly how Ross would react in a war.

Sobel (David Schwimmer) analyzing Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg)'s uniform at boot camp in Band of Brothers.

Schwimmer's Performance and Impact

After Band of Brothers aired in 2001, David Schwimmer continued to play Ross on Friends for three more seasons. In retrospect, the fact that he was so deep into this goofy, hopeless romantic sitcom character at the same time that he played the widely disliked and harsh Sobel makes the latter performance all the more impressive. Though Schwimmer's character in Band of Brothers has become controversial in recent years, his performance as Sobel is still notable to this day. It's fair to dispute the way Sobel was written on Band of Brothers, but Schwimmer still did a phenomenal job with what he was given.

Captain Herbert Sobel (David Schwimmer) watching Easy Company run in Band of Brothers.