All animals. All pizza. All Disney movies. If there’s one thing learned from interviewing Hannah Simone, it’s that she loves everything.
And it’s hard not to love the enthusiasm of the 35-year-old actress (who was raised all over the world and is best known for playing Cece on Fox’s “New Girl”), who talked to RedEye in Park City, Utah, where she was hosting the annual Catdance Film Festival—a one-night cat-related event that happens during Sundance.
Watch our interview here:
When did you become a cat lover, and how does that give you particular expertise to judge a cat film festival?
Ooh! Well, I’ve had a cat since the day I was born. I came into a cat household, so that’s just been my life from day one. And my family’s always rescued cats and dogs and iguanas and rabbits. My family sees an animal in need and they’re like, “Ehh, you should come live with us.” So I currently have two cats right now, two cats that I’ve rescued. So I just think it’s in my blood. I’m really excited that I’m here hosting Catdance as a big cat lover because it validates my crazy desire to watch cat videos online all the time. Now I’m doing it with a group of people. So I get to watch cat videos tonight, which is amazing, with a group of people who are equally as excited to watch cat videos. I also really believe in adopting your pet if you can, and that’s really a main mission of tonight.
It’s cool that you can have a virtual reality experience and see what it’s like to be adopted. Is there any other cat experience you’d like to have a virtual reality experience for?
I would love to have a virtual reality experience of a day in the life of my cats and just watch how much I just schlep around running around after them to serve their every need. How amazing. I could live like a queen for a day if I could be my cats for a day.
Do you feel cats kind of get a bad rap because of that, that people think they’re aloof? The stereotype is dogs are just sweet and cuddly, but it seems sometimes people suggest cats aren’t.
I feel like anybody who owns a cat knows how sweet and cuddly and loving they are. They just have a public face and a private life, and in their private life they’re really sweet and adorable.
So would it be fair to say cats are more diva-esque compared to dogs?
Ahh! You’re just putting so many labels on these poor little furry creatures. No, I think you’re right, they are a little bit of a diva. For sure. I think they just have these strong independent personalities. They’re not always people-pleasing, and that’s kind of nice ’cause you kind of get to meet these creatures on their own terms.
Can you list three reasons cats are better than dogs?
I love cats and dogs. I’m not going to be drawn into this weird discriminatory fight that goes on with people! I love cats, I love dogs; anything with four legs and fur, bring it over.
Does it say something about people if they consider themselves more of a cat person or a dog person?
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No. I think there are cat people, there are dog people, and there’s people like me that are just animal people. All the babies.
You never hear of a label “crazy dog lady.” But there’s “crazy cat lady.” Why do you think that exists?
I’m not sure. I’m not sure. Being a crazy cat lady is an aspirational thing for me. I love the idea that I would be crazy in love with my kitty members of my family. Yeah, sign me up.
I saw on Instagram that you posted with a piglet, puppies, kitten, chicks, everything. I hate spiders, which I guess are animals. Are there any that scare you or would be off the table?
No. All of them. I love all of them.
You’d adopt anything.
Mmm hmm. When I grew up, our friends’ family, the dad, he ran the zoo. So we’d go and there’d be like dolphins in the swimming pool and big tortoises going across the lawn. So all the animals, I love them.
On “New Girl,” every time they say cut were you running over to Ferguson?
Ferguson! [Laughs.] They kept me away from Ferguson! They just let Lamorne [Morris] hang out with Ferguson, and it’s super unfair.
Does it feel like they were doing it on purpose?
No! I don’t know, they just gave him a cat and not me. Maybe Cece and Schmidt [played by Max Greenfield], if they don’t have a kid, they’ll get to adopt a dog or a cat or something, that’d be great.
And your openness to all animals makes it easy. It could be an alligator.
Yeah, maybe we’ll get a llama.
They allow those in apartments, right?
[Laughs.] Sure! The rules don’t apply in sitcoms, it’s fine. We can have a llama in the loft.Of all the characters on the show, which actor would you say is most like their character?
[Laughs.] I think all of us actually have started to slowly fall into the weirdness of our characters. I’m lumping all of us together.In what way?
Well, they draw things from our personal lives and put them into the show and we just kind of get to do exaggerated versions of silly things. I love Cece, so the weirder she is the more I love it. And maybe slightly the weirder you get in real life.
I’m from Chicago, and of course Jake [Johnson] is too.
And so is Lamorne!
Oh, yeah.
Two Chicago boys on our show.
Have you spent any time there? Have those guys told you anything about Chicago? What have you learned from hanging out with them?
Yeah, I’ve spent a little bit of time in Chicago. I was just there hosting a We Day with about 20,000 Chicagoan youth this April. And that was incredible to see all these young kids in Chicago that are making an incredible difference through Free the Children and We Day. People I’ve met there seem pretty cool, I will be back.
As you may or may not know, people in Chicago take pizza pretty seriously. The deep-dish vs. thin-crust debate has seemingly become a national issue. What do you think of deep-dish? Are you for it or think it’s too thick?
So when I landed in Chicago the first thing I did before going to the hotel, before anything, was I went straight to a pizza joint and had deep-dish pizza. And I will say this: I love all the pizzas. Thin-crust, deep-dish, no crust, no cheese, all the cheese, all the toppings, barely any toppings. If it’s pizza, I’m going to eat it, and I’m going to like it. And you can get your own. All pizzas are personal pizzas.
It’s not possible to have one you wouldn’t like?
Nope!
You’re all inclusive, I love it.
Animals and pizza, man, those are like my two things I love most in life. Look at my Instagram; it’s all pizza and cats!
And people always associate those two things together.
Yeah, it’s funny how they say crazy cat lady—nobody says crazy pizza lady, but if there is something that fits better, it’s crazy pizza lady.
And it doesn’t have to be aspirational because you’re already there.
Livin’ the life, man. Livin’ the life.
Click here to see 25 more celebs at Sundance comment on Chicago-style deep dish pizza
I thought it would be fun to do five random questions, a little personality test.
Sure.
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What’s your favorite Disney movie and why?
Mmm! I was just talking about this yesterday. I have so many favorite Disney movies! It became a whole conversation. I love “Jungle Book”; people called me Mowgli when I was a little kid growing up. Compliment. I like “Aladdin” ’cause Princess Jasmine—first time I saw a princess that kinda looked a little bit like me. “Little Mermaid”—I dare you to find one that’s not good. They’re all great. All I’m saying is I love everything, I just realized. I love everything, all things.
Have you thought about getting a job as a critic?
[Laughs.] I know!What’s the best thing you’ve eaten recently?
Mmmm! Actually when I landed here I went to the grocery store and bought some chicken and sun-dried tomatoes and portobello mushrooms and some pasta and I made a little homemade alfredo sauce and I cooked that up last night. Pretty good.
What’s a pet peeve of yours? Just something that gets on your nerves; everyone has one.
When people try to make me choose between two things that are obviously equally awesome. Like cats and dogs or deep-dish pizza and thin-crust pizza. It makes me nuts.
Why would someone do something like that?
I really don’t know.
I hope you never have to experience that.
I hope so too.
If you could trade places with an athlete, who would it be?
Ooh. Usain Bolt. Sometimes you gotta get places fast! [Laughs.] I’d like to have those skills. Just bing! That’d be great.
Have you had problems because you feel you’re not able to get places fast enough?
No, I’m just saying sometimes I just think I’d like to go on a quick run. That’d be great.
If you had to think back on a childhood memory that was important for you, what’s the first thing that jumps into mind?
Well, because we’ve been talking about pets, I do remember my first ever cat that my parents allowed me to name, and I named her after my favorite cartoon at the time. I was a big fan of “The Flintstones,” so I got my first kitten and I called her Pebbles.
Ohh.
She was super sweet. Yeah. One of the best cats I ever had.
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