 In 2001 , Schwimmer played Captain Herbert M. Sobel in Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks ' HBO World War II miniseries Band of Brothers . The television miniseries is based on the book of the same title written by historian and biographer Stephen Ambrose . Although Band of Brothers was met with largely positive reception , Schwimmer 's performance was criticized ; the BBC News concluded , " Part of the problem ... may have been the ridiculous fact that Friends favourite David Schwimmer plays the hard and cruel Captain Herbert Sobel . The only thing believable about Schwimmer 's acting is when he cowers in the face of true battle . His puppy dog eyes make him appear even more pitiful " . Later that year he portrayed Yitzhak Zuckerman in the war drama Uprising , based on the true events of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 . 
