David Schwimmer Thanked By UK Police After Capture Of Beer Thief

Schwimmer, surveying his conquest. Image by Getty Images

By Jenny Singer November 14, 2018

“Friends” actor David Schwimmer will be there for you when the rain starts to pour, even if you are a foreign police department looking for a beer bandit.

Yes, in a brief departure from the ‘round the clock horror show that is the news cycle, we bring you a friendly collaboration between a beloved Jewish actor and the British police force that apprehended his lookalike at last:

Remember the “Friends” beer theft story?. Police have now arrested the David Schwimmer lookalike in Southall, London. He’s being questioned on suspicion of theft from a shop in Blackpool. The American actor tweeted his own image of the incident and told police “It wasn’t me!”. pic.twitter.com/IlN3Y7sEeA

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)
I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Email(Required)

— BBC North West (@BBCNWT) November 13, 2018

Jewish actor Schwimmer was nearly pulled into a life of crime in late October, when fans noted that a suspected thief caught on camera by the Lancashire Police Department strongly resembled the square-jawed, tufty-haired Schwimmer. Schwimmer was gracious enough to reenact the beer heist in a viral Twitter clip, and was cheerfully exonerated by the good people of the UK, and the world.

On Tuesday, Lancashire police announced that they caught the real culprit, a 36-year-old man, in Southall, and thanked Schwimmer for his “support.”

Now that Schwimmer’s name is cleared and he is the acclaimed writer, star, and director of a viral video clip, we hope he will devote himself to making a “Friends” reunion happen. We’ll bring the beer.

Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO