Zooey Deschanel is FOX’s “New Girl”

Zooey Deschanel stars in FOX's "New Girl"FOX’s new sitcom New Girl premieres Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 9pm ET/PT and stars Zooey Deschanel as Jess, an awkward single girl who moves into an apartment with three equally awkward guys.

You can read more about the series and what we thought of the pilot episode here at our Fall TV Preview. Deschanel joined reporters on a conference call last week to talk about taking on the new challenge of New Girl:

On being the “It” girl vs. flying under the radar:
Zooey Deschanel  It’s good being both.  I always think of myself, in my mind, I always think of myself as an underdog type.  But, I’ve been called “it” girl so many times, at different points in my career.  So, I guess “it” girl is sort of a flexible term. I mean either one, I just like working and having a job.  It’s nice.  But, I like that I have a show that the network is really behind and that is really fun to work on. So, I’m just happy.

On her interest in comedy:
Zooey Deschanel I always liked doing comedy when I would do plays in school always. I would play the comedic roles. I guess that’s kind of how it started.  But, I 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.  That’s what I really love to do.  So, I’m super happy and excited that I get to do funny stuff every week on the show.

On her connection to her character, Jess:
Zooey Deschanel I think it was kind of actor/writer kismet situation, because I know that Liz Meriwether, who created the show.  I know it wasn’t written for me initially, but it was sort of a perfect fit, you know.  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.

On adjusting to the demands of a TV series:
Zooey Deschanel I really have, I think, adjusted well because just love being busy.  I love having a lot of content.  I prefer to have constant stimulation.  So, I like going to set every day and working with the same awesome people.  I really like that, even though it’s really long hours and it’s a lot to memorize.  It’s really exciting and it’s really fun.  It’s fast moving, but I really love not waiting around.  I like getting everything done quickly.  There’s something really exhilarating about it. So, I really enjoy that.

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 really good time, it ends.  Then, 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.  So, that potential is a really nice thing.

On what she loves about Jess:
Zooey Deschanel I really love that she’s totally herself, even though she’s awkward at times 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 in female characters, 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.

Photo: © 2011 Fox Broadcasting Co. Credit: Isabella Vosmikova/FOX

1 Trackback / Pingback

  1. Zooey Deschanel: In 'The New Girl,' is she adorable or too twee?

Comments are closed.

About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.