Nasim Pedradhas gone from starring onNew Girlto transforming into a new boy.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I need to start with a very important question: Why?!
Why are you playing a 14-year-old boy named Chad?
Alexa Loo, Nasim Pedrad, and Jake Ryan in ‘Chad’.Liane Hentscher/TBS
NASIM PEDRAD:“Serious question: Why?”
I think you succeed there.
Like, “What is wrong with this weird young child?!”
Nasim Pedrad and Jake Ryan in ‘Chad’.Liane Hentscher/TBS
You said you’ve played boys before; was that during your time onSaturday Night Live?
It’s easy to picture theSNLversion of Chad.
Mostly with my friends and family, and then here and there onSNLbut that’s a very different thing.
You almost respect how thirsty he is.
I couldn’t do it, I had to jump ahead a few seconds.
People will absolutely not stand for that."
Did anyone ever venture to convince you not to do this?
Like, “Nasim, this is insane.”
Or were they like, “Yes, you should play a 14-year-old boy!”
No, people passionately tried to talk me out of it.
[Laughs] I wrote the first draft of this five years ago.
What was 14-year-old Nasim like?
I hope not too close to Chad.
Closer than you would imagine.
I loved sports, I was a tomboy, I had all guy cousins.
Every weekend we would rentRockyand watch it and then start beating the crap out of each other for fun.
In our minds that was the most American thing you could do.
Let’s talk a bit about physically becoming Chad.
How long were you in hair and makeup each day?
It’s about 45 minutes to an hour.
Wow, that’s not too bad.
Without them, sometimes with the wig it’s like, “Is that Kris Jenner?”
We can’t tell.
But the eyebrows really land the plane of a 14-year-old boy.
I intentionally make them do that last because it just helps bring it home.
It’s that transformation that helps me feel like I’m Chad and not Nasim.
Then how did you go about figuring out the exact wardrobe?
Right, like he’s not wearing Supreme.
He couldn’t pull that off even if he knew about.
My wardrobe designer developed a binder of like oversize polos that became his signature look.
We’ve attempted Chad in skinny jeans, and it really doesn’t translate.
With the social currency of high school, everything feels like the stakes are life and death.
How did you get in the mind of a 14-year-old boy?
Were there any in your life who you grilled?
Probably best not to just go around on the prowl for young boys to talk to.
[Laughs]
What was it like acting opposite actual teenagers?
Did you fit in pretty seamlessly with them?
It was actually so helpful.
I thought it was critical in really grounding the character and making the show feel as real as possible.
Like you made sure to not have another big character trying to compete with him.
Absolutely, it was so important.
Otherwise the show would have just felt too wacky if everyone was crazy.
Literally everything you just said was dead-on.
Obviously you did find a very unique angle.
And in addition to that, I had never seen a half-hour comedy centered around a Middle Eastern family.
So it’s a little bit like the blind leading the blind.
What was the most awkward situation you found yourself in as Chad?
Then there was an incident when I had my very first table read.
But it makes me so happy that you bought it for even just a brief moment!"
