"I asked him if I could watch him and follow him," Schwimmer said of shadowing Burrows, both on the set of "Friends" and other series. " ... He graciously took me under his wing, and I learned so much from him."
Co-star Lisa Kudrow reminisced about how Burrows started calling "Friends" cast members by the names of other famous characters from his previous gigs, including dubbing Courteney Cox "Mary Tyler Moore," Matt LeBlac "Danza" ("Taxi" star Tony Danza), and Kudrow "Reverend Jim" (fellow "Taxi" star Christopher Lloyd).
"He wasn't saying, 'You're as good as Christopher Lloyd,'" Kudrow conceded. " ... But I heard what I needed to hear."
Check out the full clip above. The entire special, "Must See TV: An All Star Tribute to James Burrows," airs on NBC on February 21.
Photo credit: Getty Images
