Jake Johnson: His Creative Crisis on “New Girl”, Anna Kendrick Chemistry, and the “Dog” Mentality that Carried Him from Dropout to Director

The Great Creators with Guy Raz

Jake Johnson is an actor, comedian, writer, and director who is best-known for playing Nick Miller on the sitcom New Girl. He’s also one of the voices of Spiderman in the animated movies and he wrote, directed, and stars in the new comedic thriller Self Reliance.

In this episode, Jake shares a life story filled with hilarious and poignant moments – from struggling with dyslexia and dropping out of high school, to finding his calling in the arts, to his complicated and ultimately close relationship with his late father.

Plus: Jake’s highs and lows on the set of New Girl, dealing with occasional performance anxiety that “physically hurts”, his chemistry with co-stars Max Greenfield and Anna Kendrick, keeping his addictive personality under control, and how the inspiration for “Self Reliance” came from a Japanese game show.

Links from the show:

• Jake's film, Self Reliance, on Hulu
• Nick’s advice podcast, We’re Here to Help
• Jake on Drunk History, a show he’s credited with inspiring
• Nick Miller Being Relatable for Four Minutes Straight: Youtube
• Minx on Starz
• Stumptown

See all our episodes – including conversations with Tom Hanks, Jason Sudeikis, Bjork, and many more – at TheGreatCreators.com.

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