David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 12, 1966) in Astoria, New York) is an Emmy-nominated American actor and director, who gained popularity when playing Dr. Ross Geller on the hugely popular American sitcom Friends.

He’s 41!

Schwimmer was born in Astoria, Queens, New York, to Jewish parents, Arthur Schwimmer and Arlene Colman, and then lived in Valley Stream, Long Island, until he was 2 years old. He was raised in Los Angeles, California, where he attended Beverly Hills High School.

Having attended Northwestern University’s summer “Cherub” program (the National High School Institute) in 1983, he subsequently enrolled at the university as a theater major, joining Delta Tau Delta fraternity and Arts Alliance in addition to acting and directing. In 1988, along with seven other Northwestern graduates, he co-founded Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre Company.

Schwimmer is best known for his role as paleontologist Dr. Ross Geller in the television sitcom Friends.

The program was hugely successful and Schwimmer, along with his co-stars, gained widespread recognition among television viewers.

He earned an Emmy Award nomination in the “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series” category for Friends in 1995. This made him the first cast member of Friends to receive such a nomination. Apart from acting, he also directed ten episodes of the series.

David played himself on the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm.

During the show’s ten year run, Schwimmer has appeared in numerous movies but perhaps gained most recognition outside of Friends playing Captain Herbert Sobel in the dramatic mini-series Band of Brothers.

In 2007, David directed his first ever movie, the British comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run, where he again teamed up with British actor Simon Pegg, he had previously starred with Pegg in the movie Big Nothing and also briefly in Band of Brothers.

Other November 2nd Birthdays:

Stephanie Powers-Actress -65
K.D. Lang-Singer -46
Nelly-Rapper -33