Which ‘New Girl’ Actor Was The Most Committed To Their Comedic Bits?

Actors in a good television comedy are always committed to their roles, but every show has at least one actor who is so committed to their characters it leaves a lasting impression on both the audience and their fellow cast members.

According to Lamorne Morris, who played “Winston” on New Girl, their show’s most committed cast member was Max Greenfield, who played “Schmidt” on the show. The actor said the first time he realized how committed Greenfield was to his performance was during the season one episode “Injured” where “Schmidt” gives Jake Johnson’s character “Nick” a “Fredo Kiss.” While these types of kisses between the two happen frequently throughout the show's run, over half of them were completely unscripted.

“As a performer, watching Max do that, was one of the first times I saw true commitment,” Morris told his co-hosts on the Welcome to Our Show podcast. “I thought, ‘I gotta elevate my performance ability a bit,’ because Max just goes for it 100 percent of the time.”

“Everybody’s energy is different,” said Zooey Deschanel. “I think Max’s ability to fully commit is his stamp.”

The hosts also said that Johnson himself went the extra mile while shooting this particular episode when he jumped into the Pacific Ocean in his underwear at night during October. Morris said it was up to Johnson to either use a stunt double or jump into the water (which averages between 50-60 degrees in the fall) himself.

“I remember him saying he would do it and that confused me,” said Morris. “Jake won’t jump off of a two-foot ledge. He won’t do anything. He will let the stunt double go make their money.”

Morris also mentioned that if it had it been “Winston” who was scripted to jump into the ocean, he would have gladly let the stunt double take one for the team. Listen to the full episode breakdown to hear all of the behind the scenes stories from “Injured,” like Morris teaching Hannah Simone how to rap in 10 minutes. Welcome to Our Show is the official New Girl rewatch podcast that releases new episodes weekly on the iHeartRadio app and other podcast platforms.

If you want to be sure you’re listening to the podcasts everyone else is checking out, iHeartRadio has you covered.  

Every Monday, iHeartRadio releases a chart showing the most popular podcasts of the week. Stay up to date on what’s trending by checking out the chart here. There’s even a chart just for radio podcasts featuring all your favorite iHeartRadio personalities like Bobby Bones, Elvis Duran, Steve Harvey, and dozens of others.