Zooey Deschanel interview

8 December 2011

How did you get the role on New Girl and did the producers approach you specifically?
I had been tour with my band all last year and had really taken a lot of time off working as an actress but then I just happened to read this script.  I was so blown away by how perfect it was and how funny it was, and sweet, and smart.  I hadn't seriously considered any television shows before, but this was just too great to pass up.  They took a chance on me and I was able to do it.

 

Are you enjoying working on a TV show like New Girl, compared to films and have you adjusted well?
I really have adjusted well because I just love being busy.  I prefer to have constant stimulation.  So, I like going to set every day and working with the same awesome people.  Even though it's really long hours and it's a lot to memorise, it's really exciting and it's fun.  It's fast moving, but I love not waiting around.  I like getting everything done quickly.  There's something really exhilarating about it. I also enjoy getting to develop a working relationship with a group of people; that there's always a little bit of summer camp sadness to doing a movie.  If you're having a good time and then it ends.  There's a certain amount of I think melancholy to that.  I like that doing a TV show, you have potential for this to go on. 

 

Was comedy a natural thing for you, or did you kind of fall into it?
I always liked doing comedy and always think of myself as comedic actress.  I guess later I found that I could do drama as well, but I really started out thinking that I was more of a comedic actress.  So, I'm super happy and excited that I get to do funny stuff every week on the show.

 

Jess is a very strong and unique character. Did the writers base her character on your personality?
It wasn't written for me initially, but it was sort of a perfect fit.  You go to a store and there's a dress that just looks like it was made for you, but it wasn't.  That's sort of like what it was like.  Then, now that I'm on the show, it is written for me.  It's wonderful to have all these great writers writing stuff for me.

 

What is your favourite aspect of Jess?
I really love that she's totally herself, even though she's awkward and kind of nerdy at times.  She's not afraid of being herself, whether it comes out as being a little bit naive or something else, or just a really strong sense of self.  She's totally herself.  I think that's really nice to see, because a lot of times female characters are just reacting to the men.  Especially in comedies, I think a lot of time the female characters are there to provide a balance for guys. And, I really don't feel that's true with this character.  I really feel like she's equal to all the guys.  I really, really love that.  She's a real true modern woman.

 

How did you relate to Jess in terms of being the only woman in a house full of men?
Well, I feel like it's easy to take the show and be like, oh, it's a girl and three guys.  Obviously with any sort of plot, you can boil it down and turn it into something that sounds like generic.  I think that as far as this goes, it's really about the person who's having a big change in her life, and these people that help her.  It's less about male/female dynamics and more, I think, about these particular individuals relating to one another.  I have a lot of guy friends and they all have helped me a lot in different ways.  So, I feel like it's less about her moving in with guys and more of about the person who's really in transition in her life and her friends helping her.

 

New Girl is a lot about Jess's dating life.  What are the biggest mistakes that men make?
I think being disingenuous.  From my perspective probably women are won over by people who are sweet and respectful and courteous and kind and funny.  I think those are the things that win women over.  I think that the mistakes that anyone can make going on dates is probably not being themselves because you can only trick people for so long.

 

Do you think that the male perspective on relationships would help someone who was getting over being cheated on?
I definitely think that in terms of this character.  I think that she's starting a whole new life.  She's been in one mode for a really long time.  She's sort of living out the stuff that should have happened in her late teens and early 20s in her late 20s. In a weird way, she bypassed all this stuff because she's with the same guy for a long time. It's not just getting over the break-up.  It's also finding her way in a new life being a single woman in her late 20s.

 

Jess has quite a few attempts at singing in the show, is this one of her hidden talents?
Jess isn't a singer. Although singing is something I do as a profession, I felt like Jess should too -her singing comes out of pure self-expression.  I just didn't want her to be a really great singer like Beyoncé, I thought that whatever manner she tries to sing in should match her mood at the time, and that she's not really singing to show off her vocal togs but as much as trying to express something she can't express, and to express certain awkwardness.  Yes, she sings a lot.  That's one of her character quirks.  So, you will definitely hear a lot more weird random singing.

 

Jess has been described by many as adorkable.  Is Zooey?
There's a lot of Jess that is very much like me. I feel like I understand her very well.  I feel like she is very much like I was when I was 13.  I was not the coolest kid in my class.  I feel like that inner dork is a wonderful thing to have.  And, on behalf of school kids all around, I like to represent. So, yes I definitely have a part of myself like Jess.  So, I'll leave it at that.  But, I don't know if I'd describe myself as particularly adorkable. 

 

What do you think it is about New Girl that will most draw people in and keep them coming back to watch?
To be honest, this is a new world for me.  So, I'm like that little kid.  I have to say there's something about this show-and I'm not saying it has anything to do with me, because I obviously wouldn't want to say that, but this show I feel so lucky I jumped aboard this train, because the writing is so great and it just feels really special to me to be working on it.  I can't explain it. I just have a really special feeling about this.  I think it's really the writing. It plays more like a romantic comedy than a sitcom, per se, even though it has some of the physical comedy that some of the classic sitcoms have.  We're telling stories that are not purely comedic.  I really believe that you end up caring about these characters. 

 

You have so much going on with your acting and singing, how do you manage juggle everything?  How do you manage to unwind or de-stress at the end of the day?
I don't.  I go to sleep.  At the end of the day, I basically eat and learn my lines at the same time.  It's really just trying to multi-task as best I can.  Sometimes, you have to scramble to get stuff done, or a lot of times you have to scramble to get stuff done. But, I really love it because I love being busy.  I'm a person who has a lot of energy.  So, yes, I don't really stop to rest or de-stress.  I just keep going.  I figure that if you don't stop, then you'll never notice how tired you are.