Jake Johnson Dishes On New Girl's Prince And Taylor Swift Scenes - Exclusive
Whether you love or loathe (but secretly love) "New Girl" and its kooky, adorkable premise, it's hard to argue that Zooey Deschanel's seven-season FOX series hasn't had some of the most iconic guest stars. Of course, the most notable appearances came from two of the biggest names in pop history: Prince and Taylor Swift. Prince got an entire episode and subsequent epic performance playing a fictionalized version of himself. Meanwhile, Swift crashed Cece's (Hannah Simone) wedding to Shivrang (Satya Sorab Bhabha) as his doe-eyed lost love, Elaine, at the end of season 2. Both pop stars had two very different cameos, but they're just as beloved all the same.
During an interview for his new film, "Ride the Eagle," Jake Johnson — who played Nick Miller — spoke to Looper about all things Taylor Swift and Prince. The actor noted how their appearances on the series was par for the course when it came to the incredible resources that "New Girl" had at its disposal. The relatability of the show for anyone watching certainly didn't hurt its chances of scoring some of its big-name guest stars.
A prince among pop stars
On the topic of Olivia Rodrigo and modern pop, Jake Johnson noted "'Cardigan' is a killer song," when talking about some of the pop star guests on "New Girl." "I like that these pop stars are getting into like that guitar, rock a little bit. It's like, 'Yeah, let's bring this back. Let's get away from five people dancing on stage to one thing, and let's get away from just that kind of music and go back a little bit of rock with these pop stars.'"
Johnson recalled working with Taylor Swift and Prince on "New Girl." "Well, I was also both their mentors," he joked,, "Taylor Swift came in, was in and out fast. She was great, she was really nice. Prince was the same." Acknowledging how iconic the show's guests stars were, Johnson mused, "The thing about 'New Girl,' looking back, is the people who came on that show, I think it's always going to be, you're going to keep tapping into the talent resource that we had there, which was shocking."
"But I feel lucky that I got to experience it with them," he continued. "I think it's really funny that Olivia and Taylor were both on it, and now they're kind of the biggest musicians in the world. I don't have much thought on it besides those are good memories." Imagine being that casually reminiscent about some of the biggest names in music history. Ah, to be Jake Johnson.
Fans can now check out Johnson's new film, "Ride the Eagle," now in select theaters, on demand, and digital.