Judy Greer Is a Reluctant Web Video Star

Judy Greer has starred in movies like Adaptation and 13 Going on 30, as well a memorable turn in Arrested Development. But since 2011, she's headlined Yahoo's Reluctantly Healthy, where she learns about diet, workouts and health from a variety of experts and personalities. She talked to Adweek about the show's fourth season, which just kicked off. Adweek: A lot of times you hear about a celebrity doing a Web show and it disappears. You’re in Season 4. Greer: We’re about to do our 100th episode. Isn’t that crazy? What’s really interesting about this show is that the people are so different. My usual fans from movies or from Arrested Development have no idea that i do it. Or friends that I work with will say, "You’re still doing that?" What do you like about it? Reluctantly Healthy is so completely different than what I do for a living. It’s really what I wanted it to be, which is learning to be healthy. I have so much fun and I’ve learned so much. For example, I am a terrible cook. I really go to Chipotle. I thought it would be cool to share the stuff that i was learning. I’d say among all the episodes almost 75 percent of them are my idea. So I feel really confident that this is me. So you’re not playing a character? No, that’s what’s great. I am very reluctantly healthy. The name of the show is probably the only thing I put my foot down about. They wanted to call it something like, Healthy Gal on the Go, and I was like, fuck that. That’s the kind of thing I would make fun of. The whole point is, I’m not the expert. Like, I recently got a crock pot and don’t know what to do with it. This isn’t going to be me saying, "Hey America, I love to wear sunscreen; it’s important!" Do you have a favorite so far? I really girl crushed out on Angel Porrino [and the Showgirl Booty Workout]. She’s so cute and funny. I went out that night [after taping] to see her show [at Absinthe at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas]. That episode is exactly what i wanted the show to be. It’s not a workout where I’m like, go buy all this crazy equipment. It’s a workout where like Angel you might be texting [during a plank maneuver]. We actually did a bunch of shows in Vegas. And we really like to go away and do a bunch of shows on location. How does it work? How often are you shooting? I have to leave town a lot. So it’s often based on my schedule. Sometimes it’s whenever I think of an episode. Sometimes we’ll do five in a day. Speaking of having different fans for this show, do you engage them in social media and on the comment boards? No. Very early on I did, until there were enough mean ones. I don’t need to feel that. That would make me feel self-conscious. Like there was one that said, "Is she the redhead, the stupidest person on the planet Earth?" And I was like, "No, i don't know to how to cook turkey, dude." That’s the point of the show idiot! If you don’t like it, don’t watch. But I don’t want to be thinking of that and then performing for the camera. Have you worked with brands much? We started. Last year we worked with Walgreens. There was an episode where we visited a pharmacist. I really liked it. It was important to me that they weren't Walgreens commercials. I don’t get paid that much for this show. If they wanted to pay for a big show, I would love it. But I feel protective of actors [who don’t always get paid for product placement]. Walgreens was so awesome in this case. It was very easy and seamless and it helped the show. What’s your take on all the different options out there for actors and content, among Netflix, Hulu, shows like yours? There’s not a ton of money in it yet. There’s not a ton of money in anything anymore. We used to get paid too much anyway, so i’m not crying. But it’s new. People are figuring it out. The Internet [is giving] many more people the chance to work and produce. I think the Internet is what indy movies were 15 years ago when I started. You can put on your own content and get watched overnight, or not. I think it’s very cool. And the quality of camera work is as good as some of my movies. What do you make of all the attention surrounding the return of Arrested Development? Everyone’s been so excited and supportive. Selfishly it was great to stop asking the question, because it was the most asked question ever in every interview.

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Judy Greer Is a Reluctant Web Video Star

Actress' partnership with Yahoo nears 100 episodes

Mike Shields

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