David Schwimmer is venturing into the chilling world of horror for the first time inGoosebumps: The Vanishing. Though having worked steadily through the early ’90s in recurring and supporting roles in both film and TV, Schwimmer quickly became a household name thanks to his turn asRoss Geller in the hit sitcomFriends, a role he played for all 10 seasons, and earned an Emmy nomination for. The years since have seen him explore a wide variety of genres, including the true-story-basedThe People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which netted him his second Emmy nomination, and the animatedMadagascarfranchise.
Schwimmer stars inGoosebumps: The Vanishingas Anthony, a single father and botanist living in New York whose teenage son Devin and daughter Cece come to stay with him for the summer. Since he was a teenager, Anthony has been haunted by the sudden disappearance of his brother, finally getting a crucial piece of evidence from the police regarding his disappearance decades later. However, when his investigation into the clue inadvertently unleashes an evil force, not only will Devin and Cece come under threat, but so will their new group of friends.
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Alongside Schwimmer, theensembleGoosebumps: The Vanishingcastincludes Sam McCarthy as Devin, Jayden Bartels as Cece, Elijah M. Cooper, Galilea La Salvia, Francesca Noel, Stony Blyden and Ana Ortiz. Nicely balancing a sense of dark humor with its more chilling set pieces, the latest season of the R.L. Stine adaptation proves to be another winner for the show, and Schwimmer’s descent into darkness is haunting.
In anticipation of the show’s premiere,ScreenRantinterviewed David Schwimmer to discussGoosebumps: The Vanishing, why he was excited about making the leap from comedy to horror, having been a big fan of the genre well before joining the show, the imaginative nature of filming the Disney+ title, and a tease of how his character’s transformation will progress and connect to the family story at the heart of the new season.
Schwimmer Has “Always Been A Fan Of Horror”
Goosebumps' VFX Set Pieces Also Challenged The Star In A New Way
ScreenRant: David, it’s an honor to get to chat with you and to talk aboutGoosebumps: The Vanishing. I watched the pilot yesterday, and I am hooked already. You’ve dabbled lightly in horror before, but this is really your first full-blown dive into the genre. How does it feel for you going into this?
David Schwimmer: Yeah, I don’t know if I had dabbled in horror before, maybe you’re thinking of something that I have totally forgotten. I’ve always been a fan of horror, a genuine fan. I love scary movies, I love being scared at the movie theater or at home. So, I was just really excited, because the combination of horror, action, comedy is the sweet spot for me. I’ve always wanted to do it, and I thought this was going to be just a blast, and it was.
So, talking about the action part of it, then, I love that right away in the first episode, we see your character getting involved in some heavy stuff with the monster. What is it like actually filming a lot of that, since it is not just a physical thing, but also really deals with the imagination of having to envision what’s there?
David Schwimmer: That’s exactly why I was so excited about it, because when you’re shooting it, you have to really use your imagination. Like, when stuff is growing in my arm, nothing’s there when we’re shooting it. You really have to draw on that as an actor, plus the combination of working with the stunt team and your stunt double, and really carefully choreographing each moment so when it’s all edited together, it really works. Again, using your imagination that you’re being pulled across the room by some giant vine. It was just so much fun, and the real reward is finally seeing it put together, cut together with special effects, with music. That’s the moment where you’re like, “Yes, it worked”. You know what I mean? Because you don’t know when you’re doing it, you’re like, “Gosh, I hope I don’t look stupid.” [Chuckles] But they really pulled it off.
Anthony’s Transformation InGoosebumps: The VanishingIs Key To His Family Storyline
“…everything is connected, including what I’m trying to solve…”
I did also want to ask one thing. I love the way this season is set up, it’s not like season 1, where we have this adult who’s going to be the overarching villain. We have both you and Devin differently afflicted by this thing. What can you share about what we can expect from how that evolves going into the rest of this season?
David Schwimmer: Yeah, so what’s interesting is that my character and Devin don’t know that the other is undergoing change, shall we say. So, we’re both trying to keep it a secret, and we’re following different kind of tracks, but we don’t know what the other is doing. So, a great thing about the series is that the mystery that Devin and Cece and those kids are trying to solve actually winds up being something tied to an event back in 1994 that happened to my older brother.
So, everything is connected, including what I’m trying to solve, as well, the mystery I’m trying to solve. So, it’s really well-constructed, the plot, and when we finally realized that we’re we’re kind of trying to figure out the same thing, it’s just a great journey. And there’s another meaning of a father and his kids who come together and work together as a family to really heal and really fix this huge problem.
AboutGoosebumps: The Vanishing
Goosebumps: The Vanishing begins when twins Cece and Devin Brewer are sent to spend a summer in Gravesend, Brooklyn, with their divorced dad. A threat is stirring, and they quickly realize that dark secrets are among them, triggering a chain of events that unravel a profound mystery. As they delve into the unknown, Cece, Devin and their friends — Alex, CJ and Frankie — find themselves entangled in the chilling tale of four teenagers who mysteriously vanished in 1994.
Emmy Award nominee David Schwimmer leads a brand-new cast as Anthony Brewer, a former botany professor who has immersed himself in science and mystery, alongside Ana Ortiz as police detective Jen, Jayden Bartels as Cece, Sam McCarthy as Devin, Elijah M. Cooper as CJ, Galilea La Salvia as Frankie, Francesca Noel as Alex, and Stony Blyden as Trey.
Nicholas Stoller and Rob Letterman developed Goosebumps: The Vanishing, along with showrunner Hilary Winston. All three serve as executive producers alongside Neal H. Moritz, Scholastic Entertainment’s Iole Lucchese and Caitlin Friedman, Pavun Shetty, Conor Welch, Erin O’Malley, Karl Frankenfield and James Eagan.
Check out our otherGoosebumps: The Vanishinginterviews with:
Goosebumps: The Vanishingwill begin streaming in full on Disney+ and Hulu on January 10!
Goosebumps
Cast
R. L. Stine’s horror book series receives its second television adaptation with the 2023 Disney+ series Goosebumps. The new series brings in the creative minds behind the first two Goosebumps films and centers on five teenagers who haphazardly unleash evil supernatural forces on their town. As they attempt to send them back to where they came from, they learn that their parents harbor similar secrets from their younger days.
