David Larry Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an Emmy-nominated American actor and director, who gained popularity as Ross Geller on Friends.

Schwimmer was born in Astoria, Queens, New York to Arthur Schwimmer and Arlene Colman. 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 Ross Geller in the television sitcom Friends.

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. As well as acting, he also directed many episodes of the series.

In the Friends episode "The One With Russ", the character of "Russ", who bore an amazing resemblance to Schwimmer's "Ross", was played by Schwimmer himself, although in the credits the role was credited as being played by "Snaro." The producers have joked in the past that the character of Russ was played by a famous Croatian actor named Snaro, but Schwimmer has said that the name Snaro was a tribute to a friend of his

Schwimmer played Captain Herbert Sobel in the dramatic mini-series Band of Brothers.