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Gilmore Girls had a rogues’ gallery of Stars Hollow residents. Rusty Schwimmer was memorable as Bruce, the midwife who helps Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) give birth. Bruce appeared in two season 4 episodes but Bruce was not the first Gilmore Girls role Schwimmer auditioned for.

'Gilmore Girls' stars Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham sit at a table outside
L-R: Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham | The WB/Mitchell Haddad via Getty Images

Schwimmer was a guest on Scott Patterson’s I Am All In podcast on Dec. 14 to discuss her time on Gilmore Girls. Starting from the beginning, Schwimmer revealed the two roles she almost played before Bruce. 

Rusty Schwimmer tried out for Sookie when ‘Gilmore Girls’ began  

Schwimmer’s road to Gilmore Girls began when creator Amy Sherman-Palladino first cast the show. McCarthy ultimately won the role of Sookie and Schwiimmer was fine with that. 

“I had originally auditioned for Sookie way back,” Schwimmer said on I Am All In. “Then when you see Melissa do it you think, ‘Well, there it is.’ So that’s how it started and then I just kept coming in and doing my thing.”

Rusty Schwimmer’s 2nd ‘Gilmore Girls’ audition before Bruce

Before the role of Bruce was even a factor in Gilmore Girls Season 4, Schwimmer auditioned again in season 2. She didn’t get that role either but when she landed Bruce, she knew that was the Gilmore Girls role meant for her. 

“And then also Rose Abdoo’s part also, Gypsy,” Schwimmer said. “This one just felt more like I could do it just because of the uh huh. I don’t know why. Something about it, because you were all such fast talkers and on screen I’m not a fast talker. And I thought oh my gosh, I don’t know if I can do this. The fact that mostly I’m hired for my reactions, I think that Bruce was probably the best role for me on that.”

Fitting in at Stars Hollow 

In 2003, Schwimmer finally appeared on Gilmore Girls. But first, she attended the cast read through of her first episode. By the time it made it to air, viewers would laugh at Bruce’s interaction with Sookie. However, reading the script for the first time, Schwimmer felt the pressure from those who wrote it. 

“The thing that I remember probably the most besides goofing around with Melissa was at the table read, I was petrified,” Schwimmer said. “Absolutely petrified. Incredibly and I’m not happy anyway about those table reads because there’s always that fake laughter from the writers and you always know which writers said which line and wrote which line because they laugh the hardest. 

Patterson was one of the regulars who made Schwimmer feel welcome, she remembered.

“Afterwards, you came up to me and said, ‘Great job, great job,’” Schwimmer said. “I’ll never forget because I thought oh, bless his heart that he said that. Now I can feel so much better and not be fired before we even start filming.”

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