You’ve seen her before — perhaps it was on Netflix’s Love, or Community, or maybe even as the infamous Mimi-Rose Howard on Girls. Regardless, you know Gillian Jacobs.
And if you don’t, you’re about to.
Jacobs is set to star alongside Saturday Night Live alum Vanessa Bayer in the Netflix film Ibiza, and play a leading role in an upcoming star-studded comedy.
“I’m in a movie with Melissa McCarthy called Life of the Party,” Jacobs told Her Campus. “It’s myself, Maya Rudolph, Matt Walsh — so many funny, hilarious people.”
You’re sure to recognize the rest of the cast too, which includes Modern Family‘s Julie Bowen, Stranger Things‘ Shannon Purser, Silicon Valley‘s Jimmy O. Yang and more.
“[There was] such a warm, loving, supportive atmosphere on that set that I had the time of my life,” Jacobs said.
The actor won’t be taking much time off until the film’s July release, though. Performances for KINGS — a Public Theater Off-Broadway play directed by Hamilton‘s Thomas Kail — begin today, and Jacobs is one of its leading ladies.
“I think it’s a different type of role for me,” Jacobs said. “I’m playing a lobbyist in Washington, D.C.”
Advertised as “a hilariously blistering new play about money, politics, and the state of the American republic,” KINGS marks Jacobs’ first return to the Public since 2008.
And while politics are a large part of KINGS, the current administration didn’t seem to have a major influence on the play’s production.
“It’s interesting because I first did a reading for this play a year ago,” Jacobs said. “So while this play is really timely, it’s not actually about current events. But I think it speaks to something that has been going on for years in Washington.”
Jacobs said she’s gained some insight since taking on the project, and she hopes audiences will too.
“Hopefully they’ll [audiences] learn something, but it’ll also be entertaining,” Jacobs said. “It’s a very funny play, so it’s not like you’re getting, you know, a civics lesson.”
Jacobs praised Kail, the play’s staging and her co-stars.
“I think the writing is incredibly compelling,” Jacobs said. “The actors in the show are all so amazing — Aya Cash, Eisa Davis, Zach Grenier.”
Opening night is Februrary 20 — just a few weeks before the third and final season of Love hits Netflix. Fans of the Judd Apatow comedy aren’t the only ones eager to watch, though.
“I’m excited to see it. I always get too nervous to watch them before they go online, so I never see the season ahead of time,” Jacobs laughed.
She admitted it can be embarrassing on the first watch, but by the second or third she’s able to appreciate episodes as a whole.
Her latest venture may be harder to avoid seeing, though. Jacobs stars in a Diet Coke commercial as part of the brand’s new “Because I Can” campaign, “which encourages fans to live the life they want to live, regardless of what others might think.”
For her, “Because I Can” means doing the things that make her happy.
“For me, it’s a long list of very nerdy, dorky things,” Jacobs said. “Like listening to podcasts, going to museums, reading George Bernard Shaw plays when I was a child.”
Otherwise, Jacobs said she’s trying to write more. Last year she even interviewed astronaut Peggy Whitson for Glamour‘s Women of the Year issue.
“I’ve had really unexpected, fun things come my way,” Jacobs said.
This isn’t just limited to acting and writing, either.
“I’m directing a short film for Refinery29 so I’m really excited about that opportunity,” Jacobs said. “I directed a short documentary a couple years ago, and this is the first time I’ll be directing something scripted.”
So — do you know Gillian Jacobs yet?
Watch Her Campus’s full interview with Gillian Jacobs below.