Zooey Deschanel was “an extremely frustrated songwriter” before she met Matt Ward.
The 42-year-old actress stars alongside Matt in the band She Him, and Zooey admits she was desperate to achieve success in the music industry after starring in various films and TV shows.
Zooey – who is best-known for playing Jessica Day in the hit sitcom ‘New Girl’ – shared: “With acting, I got success really early on. I was making money at it and I liked being part of a movie or a TV show.”
Despite this, Zooey always wanted to find success in the music business. And she admits that meeting Matt has proven to be a turning point in her life.
She told The Sun newspaper: “Before I met Matt, I was an extremely frustrated songwriter.
“I’d written all these songs and made demos at home but I just left them sitting there.
“I had friends who were in bands and I was jealous that they got to play music.
“And I didn’t just want to be a singer. I love collaborating on music, I love singing harmonies, I love writing back-up parts.”
Matt has also relished the experience of working with Zooey.
The musician described her voice as the “perfect instrument” to work with.
He said: “I remember hearing Zooey’s voice for the first time, as did a lot of other people, in ‘Elf’. I thought to myself, ‘This must be an established singer who probably has several records under her belt’.
“It was incredible to collaborate with her in the studio for that film and to find out that she’d never recorded a solo record.
“Once you hear Zooey’s voice, you remember it. It’s so unique, so expressive and the perfect instrument for me to work with.
“And that’s not even talking about her ability to write vocal arrangements, which is all over the new album and all our past ones. I find that so inspiring to work with, a real thrill.”