The Surprising Actor Tony Hale Was Compared To Before Arrested Development

"Arrested Development" is a comedy that bridged people from the end of the '90s era of "Seinfeld," "Frasier," and the like to the more modern talking head shows like "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation." The biggest sitcom of the '90s, "Friends," was still going in the early 2000s.  As casting began for "Arrested Development" in 2003, it was the success of "Friends" that could have kept Tony Hale from becoming Buster Bluth.

"I would do commercials for many, many years in New York and I was just kind of labeled a commercial actor," Hale explained to Looper. "And my type was the quirky guy, not all there. Somebody described me as a not so good looking David Schwimmer. And I said, 'What if somebody doesn't think David Schwimmer's good looking? Then I'm screwed.' I was always seen as a commercial actor and I always wanted to do comedy and sitcom. And so I would say 'Arrested Development' was kind of that kind of breaking through that I was really super grateful for."

Thankfully for us, being a "not so good looking" Ross Geller didn't prevent Hale from becoming one of the funniest sitcom actors of the 2000s and beyond. 

"Poupelle of Chimney Town" is now playing in theaters.