Photo: Work:Play Creative.You were great on Inside Amy Schumer. How did you get involved? Is this the beginning of an acting career for you?
“For a month leading up to it, I woke up in fear. I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I have to do this.' Then, one day [Amy] had me come in to rehearse at this comedy workshop in the East Village. It’s so funny — they have, like, 100 people in a room. 100 funny people. They write sketches...do improv, standup, whatever...and at the end of your sketch they all raise their hands and they go, ‘It’d be funnier if you said 'dick,' instead of 'balls'...everyone takes it very seriously. Like, ‘Yes, yes, you’re right. Balls would be funnier.’ It’s hysterical, seeing that process. It makes me respect them so much more... I could definitely do this again, but I don’t know about a movie.”
The one-liners come so naturally to you — just look at your Twitter. So, it felt very organic to see you in that setting.
“That was all [Amy's] writing..she’s so funny. She’s so self-deprecating and wants you to look at her… That was the hardest part. I wish you could see the outtakes from that thing."
So, any more comedy appearances for you?
“I want to do some Funny Or Die stuff, too. I love those. They’re so well-edited... They want to make you funny, so there’s no pressure.”
How has New York changed for you over the past few years?
“Certain areas, certain experiences are a little bit different... But, it’s New York City. No one really cares about anybody else. Everyone’s just very forward-looking. It’s not like going to dinner in L.A. or getting off of the airplane at LAX, where, you know, you’re just mobbed. They know you’re on the flight. New York still has a very cool vibe to it. The only thing is, restaurants and workout classes are a little like, ‘Oh gosh, people are watching me. Now I have to actually try.’”
What workout classes do you go to?
“I go to Physique 57. If I can do it, you can do it, honestly. I think SLT is the hardest thing out there...you’re doing Pilates, but you’re doing it quickly. I’ve never been so sore in my life. I just love it.”
What are your other favorite New York spots? Where can we find you?
“On Thursdays, I’m always at Frank's for lasagne verdi. It’s my favorite lasagna on the planet... I’ll go by myself, sit in the corner by the kitchen, and just be on my laptop. I get it well-done, and it’s bubbling and crispy around the edges. It’s so wonderful. So, that’s definitely one of my favorite spots in New York… What else? I’m such a Seamless web nut. I love delivery.”
Do you have a fake Seamless name?
“No... I [once] ordered from a sushi place down the street, and then someone direct-messaged me [on Twitter]: ‘Hey, I just got your sushi order.’ I was like, ‘This is so weird.’ He goes, ‘I’m going to throw some stuff in,’ and I was like ‘Great!'”
It's so great to hear you’re a Seamless girl.
“You can get anything at the drop of a dime! At 1:30 last night...I was like, ‘I really want a lettuce-wrapped burger.’ I typed it in, and of course you can get it immediately. It’s insane.”
Photo: REX USA.Do you have any NYC bucket-list items?
“I’ve never really been inside Central Park. I live on the Lower East Side, and I really don’t go too far [uptown], ever... I just went to the High Line for the first time...I really want to do the trapeze at Chelsea Piers... It’s funny, because my friends and I all have such similar personalities — we’re very hardworking. We really, truly love working and being out there... But, at the end of the day, we’re pretty lazy. It takes a lot for us to be like, ‘Do you want to go to the High Line right now?’”
How do you maintain your down-to-earth, cool, accessible vibe in the public eye?
“If anything, you start that way because you’re a little insecure; you never feel quite perfect or quite right for the job in the first place. So...you don’t really get an ego from it, you just get more nervous, because you know there are more eyes on you... I’m a pretty celebrity-obsessed person... I know there are people I like and people I’m drawn to: It’s always the ones who don’t try too hard. For me, it’s kind of a natural thing, because we are — John and I both — very down-to-earth, normal, true people. Which is why I think it’s funny when people try to conjure up things that they think celebrities are... Some people are just normal, cool people, and they just happen to be in the spotlight.”
You were just at the Met Ball. That must have been really fun.
“I can’t believe it, every time I get to go...this year was definitely really fun for me. Especially the after-party. I had a really good time... I’ve been dying to go out lately, just to hear some of Beyoncé’s songs in a club atmosphere. That’s my reason for going out: 'I need to hear this with bass in a club!' We’re very much homebodies, but, oh my gosh, we went to Rihanna’s after-party. I was like, ‘Oh man, we’re so hip.’”
I saw you with Curtis Granderson for Spread the Water. What other projects do you have coming up in that vein?
“I’m trying to really get my blog going...it used to be a place where I could go to just kind of have fun with it... But, then it got a little more serious when I saw how many people were going on it. I wanted it to be perfect and beautiful. We just had a whole redesign last week, and now I’m so proud of it. I’ve [also] got a show on MTV coming out early this summer called Snack Off, [which is] a cooking competition show for younger people. We’ll say college-age kids... It’s like Top Chef, but using the ingredients we would have in our fridge. Sometimes, our secret ingredient is a Hot Pocket. Sometimes, our secret ingredient is Cheetos... It’s fun to see what they come up with, but, trust me, there are more misses than I expected.”