After just two seasons of Fox’s sitcom New Girl, Mr Max Greenfield has become something of a comedy icon. That’s because his character, Schmidt, is such a ridiculous, over-the-top, self-important, loveable loser – a perfect foil to the wide-eyed optimism of his roommate Jess, played so indelibly by Ms Zooey Deschanel.As Schmidt’s popularity has risen, thanks, in part, to several viral videos Mr Greenfield made, including one of Schmidt’s dating profile (his perfect match? Himself) and another where he teaches a spinning class to an empty room with the energy of a banshee, so has his red carpet quotient.
This year, after swooning over a certain designer in a guest-edited entry for Ms Gwyneth Paltrow’s website, Goop (Ms Paltrow tweeted about how big a fan she was of his character), Mr Greenfield finally got his wish: the designer sent him a tuxedo to wear at the Golden Globes, where Mr Greenfield was nominated for his role on New Girl.
“I will never own a nicer piece of clothing in all of my life,” says Mr Greenfield, who grew up in Westchester, New York, and now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Ms Tess Sanchez, a casting director, and their daughter, Lilly. “You feel like a different man. That thing fits you in a way that you think – maybe I could kick some ass in this thing. Sometimes I just wear it around the house. I’m not proud of it, but every once in a while I’ll just put it on and say, ‘Honey, take a look at me in this thing.’”
Max Greenfield fans can tell you his New Girl character Schmidt takes fashion very seriously. And while Greenfield may not own driving moccasins or a sharkskin laptop sleeve like his fictional counterpart, we found out he’s definitely a fan of looking put together when we recently caught up with him at a class he taught at Soul Cycle in West Hollywood.
