Max Greenfield Reveals What 'New Girl' Taught Him About Modern Masculinity (Exclusive)

Almost 15 years after New Girl premiered, Max Greenfield reflected on the show's lasting appeal to young fans and how proud he remains of it. In this candid interview, he also opened up about what the role taught him about modern masculinity and self-acceptance.

“As an adult man, that I think having an understanding of who you are is really important. Knowing where those insecurities come from.”

The Unexpected Legacy of 'New Girl'

Max Greenfield: You know, what's so funny about New Girl is that the writers were so good. I love them all. But they really would pick up on things that we started to do as people, and they’d be like, “Oh man, you do that?” And then it would end up in the show. I remember there was an episode that they wrote where Schmidt was cleaning, and he was organizing his garbage. He would have to empty the trash and organize the contents of the trash. And sadly, I’ve done that before. Just like the organization of the loft and the need for everything to be in its place came from me.

Men's Journal: I am a huge New Girl fan. So, my wife and I have watched it with our daughter, and she absolutely loved the show. She thought it was hilarious. That always makes me wonder. For somebody who has been in a show that people have connected to so deeply, how fun is it to have young people come up to you and talk about a show that was produced before they were even born?

Max Greenfield: I find that the strongest demo for New Girl is college kids. People who are living in dorms, they love it. It will snow one weekend on the East Coast, and they'll just go, “Oh, okay, I'm just going to watch all 150 episodes of New Girl this weekend.” And then they do it, and then they see you out in the world, and they're like, “Oh my god!”

Men’s Journal: I can totally understand why. The show had so much heart and everything, right? It's aged so well.

Max Greenfield: Yeah, the ridiculousness of it, and just these people living together, and you know, not doing a lot, connects with the TikTok generation. There's so much of that show that is just ridiculous and funny. And I think, oddly, that there's not enough of that in the world right now, and I think it's genuinely helpful and such a relief to experience that and to just enjoy it.

How Max Greenfield Stays In Shape

Men’s Journal: You were talking about how ridiculous New Girl could be at times, which it obviously absolutely could be. One of my favorite elements of that ridiculousness was the physical comedy that you brought to the show. As a fan, some of the stuff you were able to do during episodes always blew me away. The show revealed that you were in amazing shape. How did you get in and stay in such incredible shape?

Max Greenfield:CrossFit. I got on the CrossFit train early. One of the things that drives me... I'm at an age where I've really worked through the anger issues I've had in my life. But the one thing that drives me really crazy, that doesn’t directly affect me or isn't targeted at me in any way, is when you go to the gym, and people leave weights out and don't keep the gym organized. And you'll see someone leave a barbell out or not put them away properly. It makes me insane. I like my gym like I like my fridge. I need it organized and clean.

But yeah, I was younger back then, and I caught CrossFit just at the right time. And it really changed my whole physique. It changed my body in a way that I didn't think was possible. It built a foundation that I still have. I'm older now. I have to be a little more careful. I'm at a different pace.

Max Greenfield on Schmidt and Modern Masculinity

Men’s Journal: The other thing about your New Girl character is that he was always very, very confident but he could be deeply insecure on the inside. I was curious what playing a character like that taught you about masculinity.

Max Greenfield: I mean, again. I think this was a good mix of the writing and also what they realized about me. They were like, “Oh, he's a lot of what we were already writing.” He was insecure about some things and then totally confident in other areas of his life. And I think that's what made him so funny.

I think the humor about the s**t, like when they're like, “Are you still cleaning the kitchen?” I'm like, “Yes, I am. And I'm OK with that.” As an adult man, that I think having an understanding of who you are is really important. Knowing where those insecurities come from. It like, “Why are you cleaning the kitchen?” The response isn’t, “I don’t know. Why don't you just leave me alone? And I'm going to be a weirdo about it." It's because, “I got a lot going on, man. There’s so much out of control in my life, and I want to keep the fridge clean. It makes me feel really good when it is. I like to see all of my Rubbermaid EasyStore containers stacked and organized. If I'm really on one, I'll label them." But that's it man. Having an understanding of why I'm feeling insecure. I've found that to be helpful and it's allowed me to have a sense of humor about it.

Men’s Journal: So, basically, try to understand where you're coming from and own it?

Max Greenfield: Yeah. Yeah. As long as it's not problematic for anybody else in my life. This is what makes us human, and I think makes us funny. Or at least makes us feel funny to ourselves.

Max Greenfield Reveals His Favorite Show

Men’s Journal: What TV shows or movies are you watching that you would want the world to know about?

Max Greenfield: Oh, man. My favorite show in the last ten years is 100 Foot Wave.

Men’s Journal: I don't know that one.

Max Greenfield:  It’s on Max. It’s unbelievable. It’s about these guys who chase big wave surfing. And this one guy, Garrett McNamara, finds this spot in Portugal called Nazaré. Now, it’s been many years, and Nazaré has become a big surf spot, but he pioneered that area. They document the whole thing, and it is just exquisite. It's done beautifully. It's just unbelievable. I love it. It's my favorite show. I've watched it so many times, and it never gets old. It's the best. I can't describe it. It does something to me, physically and emotionally, that I just want to live in that spot.