Jane Lynch Talks Tapping Into Her Inner Child Ahead of New Lego Campaign: ‘I’ve Brought Play Back Into My Life’
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Jane Lynch, having been summoned for jury duty this week, is happy she hasn’t been called into court today.
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Instead, when she pops up over Zoom on Wednesday afternoon, she’s bundled up in a grey zip-up sweatshirt in her Montecito home — cozy, unbothered and ready to talk about her new Lego campaign, launching Thursday morning. Having been relieved of her very adult obligations, she now has the day to channel her inner child.
“It’s amazing!,” she says, holding up a Lego Minifigure of herself, dressed up in the black suit and bowtie she wore as a host of NBC’s “Hollywood Game Night.” “Not a lot of people get these.”
The Lego Group’s “Play Is Your Superpower” campaign encourages families to reprioritize play, citing a new global study that found that 32% of children globally spend less time playing a week than most adults spend scrolling on their smartphone. The campaign is supported by Tan France, Naomi Watanabe, Bindi Irwin and Stephanie Beatriz, while Lynch stars in a short film in which she plays a work-obsessed CEO who has a hidden playful side.
“Basically I play for a living,” Lynch says. “I look at acting as like playing house and playing pretend which is what I loved doing as a kid.” She fondly recalls building up a Lego house as a child. She remembers it had a midcentury modern design with a yellow facade and a red, low slung roof. It even had a garage with a car in it.
Of course, at 63 years old, play looks a little different for Lynch now. She’s become close friends with her neighbors since moving to a secluded compound on the gorgeous Santa Barbara coast during the pandemic. She’s an avid pickleball player, and has a book club with a group of friends. Their most recent read was Jennette McCurdy’s “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” which Lynch loved.
“I’ve brought play back into my life,” she says. “It’s interesting as you get older, it seems the trajectory is to go back to childhood. All the people that I’m hanging out with are my age and all we do is play.”
Check out Lego’s “Play is Your Superpower” campaign video at lego.com.
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