Don't Call Her "Adorkable"

When a star is so connected to a role, it's easy to start associating them with that character. I know that I would be incredibly disappointed to find out that Jennifer Aniston or Courteney Cox are nothing like Rachel or Monica from Friends in real life or that the cast of the Real Housewives Of New Jersey are actually decent and rational human beings offscreen. Certain celebrities are put in very narrow boxes based solely on a fictional character that they play, and no one knows that better than New Girl actress Zooey Deschanel. The Fox star sat down with The Huffington Post recently and insisted that her New Girl character Jessica Day is nothing like the real Deschanel — especially when it comes to that "adorkable" label.

"[The term 'adorkable'] was something that was calculated, you know what I mean? That was our marketing department at Fox and they did a really good job with our first season, but that's a word that describes the character that I play, not me. I don’t personally have identification with that word myself... I don’t think I've ever met a person who knows me use that word to describe me, so it’s not of any consequence to me."

Some people might consider take what Deschanel is saying about her character as somehow ungrateful for the success that she received from the series, but ultimately I'm glad she made the distinction. Deschanel is so often clumped with the characters she plays that it's often hard to see that she's not necessarily the "manic pixie dream girl" or the "cute and quirky" actress the media plays her up to be. She may succeed in these parts, but that doesn't make her the real life quirky roommate from New Girl or the goofy love interest from 500 Days Of Summer.

It's clear that Deschanel doesn't want to typecast herself into these roles, and that she wants to show she's more than just the parts she's selected over the years. Fans can still love Deschanel's adorkable persona when she's onscreen... just don't call her Jess Day.

Image: Giphy