He's now considered a Hollywood A-lister after starring in one of the most famous sitcoms in the world, but life could have been very different for David Schwimmer.

The actor bagged the role of a lifetime as Ross Geller in Friends, which led him and his five co-stars to become household names in Hollywood.

And while everything seemed to truly work out for Schwimmer, it's safe to say he had no idea life was going to be this way.

If the actor wasn't so swayed by the girls in his acting class, the world would possibly never know his name.

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While Ross - a paleontologist with a PhD was always determined to let others know he is a doctor, it seems as though Schwimmer could actually have become a doctor himself.

In an interview with The Guardian, Schwimmer explained that he had his sights set on becoming a surgeon if he hadn’t chosen to pursue a career in acting.

Schwimmer described himself as having been a "big science geek", explaining: "I was fascinated by the human body: I knew everything about the lymph lymphatic, the vascular and the skeletal systems."

When it came to studying the subjects in class, however, Schwimmer said he found that he could "talk to more girls in acting class than in the science lab", and ultimately the realization "kind of derailed [his] medical career".

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Schwimmer recalled trying out a few different career paths before finally buckling down and settling on a life in front of the camera.

The actor took up part-time work in an ice-cream shop, a "copy machine place", then as a "roller-skating waiter in Chicago", where he remained for seven years and made his "real money by doing stunts".

He recalled: "Everyone gets their burgers and fries, then you say: 'Hey, you want me to jump over your kids for five bucks?' They'd have their kids lie on the ground and I’d just jump over them at 30mph."

It sounds like he made the right career move in the end, though!

Featured image credit: MediaPunch Inc / Alamy

David Schwimmer admits his desire to talk to girls in acting class ‘derailed’ career in medicine