To some she’s the epitome of twee – and yes, she has been known to strum a ukulele. But to plenty more, Zooey Deschanel is one of the most engaging entertainers in the US, hopping back and forth from acting to music with a lightness and sense of genuine fun that few actor-musicians manage. As her duo She & Him release their new album of Beach Boys covers, she’ll be taking on your questions.
Deschanel is well established enough that she has a different defining performance depending on who you ask. Her gift for wry amusement at romance – she has a great line in deadpan stares – had a natural home opposite Will Ferrell in Elf and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 500 Days of Summer, while she deepened The Happening, The Good Girl and All the Real Girls with her capacity for intimacy and seriousness. And while she has been given some slightly underwritten pal/girlfriend roles of the years, she got a glorious long-form lead in the sitcom New Girl, stretching out into seven seasons of exasperated screwball comedy.
