Ep. 254: Zooey Deschanel | Her Secret Identity + The Journey of She & Him

Today's guest is one of the most recognizable faces of her generation — an actor whose voice you'd know in a single frame. But her real story isn't the one you've watched. It's the one she kept secret: for 20 years she's been a songwriter, and barely anyone — even people who know her — knew it. This is one of the more honest conversations we've had about being underestimated — as an actor who "couldn't" really be a musician, and as a woman the industry assumed didn't write her own songs — and about what it costs to keep making things purely because you love them. And The Writer Is... Zooey Deschanel of She & Him! In this episode of And The Writer Is, we go deep on: Why she erased social media off her own devices The "industry plant" myth — why the industry "can't make anything happen" anymore Being told "you'll never make a record, no one will take you seriously" as an actor Her "secret agent" identity The misogyny she goes to bat against Her North Star she chases And much more... Hit subscribe and turn on notifications. Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music. Join our Patreon for special access, bonus conversations, demo playing opportunities, and guest hangs! patreon.com/andthewriteris Follow us on socials: @andthewriteris A special thank you to our lead sponsor NMPA for making these conversations possible. NMPA is the National Music Publishers' Association. They fight for songwriters and they fight for this podcast, too. Chapters 0:00 Intro 1:00 Meet Zooey Deschanel 1:51 Writing alone — and erasing social media to do it 4:49 Why the "industry plant" is a myth 6:37 "You'll never be taken seriously as a musician" 7:25 Her secret identity as a songwriter 11:15 How She & Him released with no name attached 13:01 "I Thought I Saw Your Face Today" — never a single, now #1 on TikTok 15:35 The story behind writing "I Thought I Saw Your Face Today" 17:24 Her dad, the records, and growing up musical 22:44 Brian Wilson, Gershwin, and the Great American Songbook 26:13 Five desert island albums 28:21 Why "A Hard Day's Night" beats the White Album 30:16 Teaching herself piano at six 32:46 Writing her first song at ten 38:42 "I identify as a songwriter, not an actor" 42:15 Dropping out of Northwestern 45:59 A word from our lead sponsor, NMPA 49:23 Finding her voice in the studio — the mic chain 51:56 Recording with Brian Wilson & the gifted mic 55:57 Why she never sold out — turning in finished records 67:03 The lonely sets where her first two records were written 69:35 Almost Famous & Cameron Crowe 72:50 "I'm allergic to selling myself" 76:19 Nobody believes a woman writes her own songs 79:00 Writing for other artists & how publishing splits really work 82:07 Why she loves writing Christmas songs 84:24 500 Days of Summer & music in film 88:36 The songwriting trick: "What if I am her?" 93:21 Dyslexia, reading scripts & why melody sticks 94:56 Why she doesn't do more theater 98:38 Staying clean through party-era Hollywood 100:50 M. Ward — 20 years, never one fight 109:57 Writing alone when everyone's afraid to 111:43 The biggest misconception about her 114:18 Finding your North Star Credits: Hosted by Ross Golan Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad Edited by Jad Saad Watch on Spotify. If you're subscribed to Spotify Premium, you don't get any Spotify ads on our show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.