THE TRAINER of Friends star Marcel the Monkey has branded David Schwimmer “despicable” for saying that he hated working with the animal actor.
Animal handler Mike Morris said Schwimmer – whose character Ross kept Marcel as a pet on season one of the hit sitcom – was “jealous” that the capuchin monkey got more laughs than him.
Speaking out for the first time ever, Morris claimed that, during a glittering career that included working with Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman and being a mascot for the Los Angeles Angels, the monkey ONLY ever had a problem with Schwimmer.
He said the primate worked well with Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc but just never gelled with the Ross Geller actor.
Morris also begged the star to “let it go” as more than 25 years have passed since they worked together.
It comes after the New York-born actor, now 54, whined during the Friends reunion that the monkey missed its mark and messed up his timing.
He previously accused the monkey of throwing poop, trying to bite him, and getting grubs in his hair, according to trainer Mike.
The Sun tracked down Mike and Katie the monkey, one of two simian actresses who played Marcel, to the San Fernando Valley.
Speaking about his bitter experiences on the set of Friends, Mike, 53, didn’t hold back as he let rip against David.
He said the star’s comments trampled on the memory of the other animal actress who played Marcel, known as Monkey, who passed away from cancer at the age of 36 in August last year.
Mike exclusively told The Sun: “I have never ever watched Friends because of Schwimmer’s comments about the monkeys.
“I have refused to ever since he did an interview after the animals got written out of the show and he said they tried to bite him and throw poop at him.
“They didn’t do any of that. None of it is true, when I was there none of that ever happened.
“I didn’t speak out back then but I am now.
“Of course, I didn’t watch the reunion interview but I heard from others what Schwimmer said.
“I just don’t agree with it, if anything he threw off their timing if we want to be truthful.
“Schwimmer was fine with the monkeys for the first couple of episodes and happy to be there.
“But people would laugh at the monkey and I think he got jealous because it wasn’t him getting the laughs.
“He seemed to get a little bitter about them being there after that.
“And of course the monkeys didn’t like working with him after he turned on them.
“It made it harder to do the work – a five-camera show is hard to work on with animals anyway so if you have an actor that’s not very helpful, it makes it even worse.
“My colleague who also worked on the show says that people would laugh at the monkey and throw Schwimmer off.
“He’s not the kind of actor who can improvise.
“Schwimmer wouldn’t prep with her, he didn’t want to rehearse with her.
“We had to rehearse with the monkey by herself and then he would come in and things wouldn’t be the same so it made it harder.
“It got to the point where he just really resented the monkey being there, he obviously had a problem with her and he’s still talking about it now.
“The other capuchin who played Marcel was called Monkey and passed away recently away from cancer so Schwimmer was talking ill of the dead when he made those comments.
“I find it despicable for him to still be speaking ill of her.”
Mike – who explained that capuchins can live until around 40 – started working with Katie when she was just two years old.
Every day he would drive her and fellow actress Monkey from their living quarters at Valley desert outpost Sylmar to Warner Bros studios in Burbank.
He said other Friends actors such as Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc got on fine with the monkeys for the eight episodes they featured in.
And he responded to David’s prior claim that as trainers they wouldn’t let the actor bond with the animals.
He said: “It is true that we prefer that actors don’t become too friendly with the monkey.
“An actor is a prop to the monkey and has to work with that prop.
“We don’t want them to become friends because then they think ‘Oh it’s my friend, I don’t have to work’.
“If they see the actor as their friend they won’t do the job.
“They just want to go hang out with their friend instead of doing what they’re supposed to do.
“It’s not out of spite or malice.
“The rest of the Friends cast were nice.
“The few times we worked with Matt LeBlanc he was great, he really liked the monkey and found it easy to work with it.”
“Jennifer Aniston did a few scenes with the monkeys too and she was also great to work with.
“We worked on a scene with Jennifer where the monkey supposedly pooped in her shoe and she was a pleasure to work with.”
During the Friends reunion special aired in May, Schwimmer said: “Here is my problem: The monkey, obviously, was trained. It had to hit its mark and do its thing right at the perfect time.
“What inevitably began to happen was we would all have choreographed bits kind of timed out, and it would get messed up because the monkey didn’t do its job right.
“So we would have to reset, we'd have to go again because the monkey didn't get it right.”
He also complained that the monkey would eat live bugs while perched on his shoulder, adding: “It was time for Marcel to… to f**k off.”
Mike explained that Katie is around 30 now, still working, and has a movie project coming up.
After featuring on Friends she went on to star alongside Dustin Hoffman and Cuba Gooding Jr. in the hit movie Outbreak.
With a clear sense of pride in what the monkeys could do, he also had some choice words about Schwimmer’s ability as an actor.
Mike said: “Long ago W.C. Fields said ‘Never work with animals or children.
“The reason he said that is because they pull the attention away from the actors.
“If you’ve got a cute kid, the audience looks at the kid.
“If you’ve got a dog doing something cute in the background, they’re not paying attention to the actors.
“I think a good actor can play off an animal.
“We did a shot with Seinfeld and he played off the monkey and went with what the monkey was doing.
“I think David had a little problem with that, he was very regimented and had to do what the script said.
“I think he had a problem improvising with the monkey.
“It feels good to talk honestly about it, I always stayed quiet about it because it’s the professional thing to do.
“But it’s kind of bad that he is still talking about the monkey this many years after the show ended.
“It was one season over 25 years ago, it’s time time to let it go.
“It’s almost like he’s still got a monkey on his back.
“Katie can’t speak for herself so that’s why I’m talking out for her.
“The monkeys definitely wouldn’t hold a grudge against David, if Katie had to work with him again tomorrow she would do it no problem.
“I know he holds a grudge against the monkeys but they definitely don’t hold one against him.
“They’re just good-natured animals and probably don’t even remember him.”
Source: Read Full Article