Ross Geller hence, Schwimmer was the first person to be cast on the show. Ross is a paleontologist and has a Ph.D. from Columbia University. His romantic feelings toward Rachel Green, which began as a high school infatuation, are an ongoing theme of his narrative arc. Likewise, their on-again, off-again romantic relationship is a nearly constant theme of "Friends". Born on October 18, 1967, and raised on Long Island, Ross is the elder brother of Monica Geller. Ross and Monica are Jewish and see themselves as at least cultural Jews, with Ross taking a more active role in wanting to teach his
Monica Geller "can't simply rest on this one [Ross and Rachel] relationship", while believing that Monica and Chandler's would ultimately provide a fun opportunity for the writers to explore brand new storylines. Silveri and Goldberg-Meehan deliberately intended to keep Monica and Chandler's union "low-key" in order to further differentiate it from Ross and Rachel's, which had been very public. In order to get an idea how audiences would react to Monica and Chandler hooking up at Ross and Emily's wedding in London, the scene in which a clearly nude Monica suddenly emerges from under the sheets of Chandler's hotel bed was filmed