GREER HITS THE ‘SWITCH’ FOR AUDIBLE
Judy Greer is switching it up.
The “Archer” star and voiceover veteran is heading to Audible for “A Total Switch Show,” hitting the service Thursday.
The not so family-friendly take on “Freaky Friday,” by veteran writers of satirical outlet The Onion, stars Zoey Deutch as Emma, a 23-year-old who switches places with mom Lisa — played by the actress’ real-life mom, Lea Thompson.
Greer and Deutch previously worked together in the 2019 film “Buffaloed,” and it was Deutch who invited her aboard the project — also starring Bradley Whitford, Giancarlo Esposito and Sasheer Zamata.
“I was like, ‘Yeah dude, totally. … Whatever you’re doing, I’ll do. Like I will sell lemonade at your lemonade stand for the rest of my life,’ ” Greer, the 45-year-old “Arrested Development” alum, recalled to the Daily News last month.
“I don’t even think I read it or read anything about the character,” she added with a laugh.
“When [Deutch] told me it was for her and her mom, and doing like a mother-daughter switch thing, I was like, ‘Oh f—k yeah, that’s awesome! Yes!’” said Greer.
While plenty of voice actors record on their own, coronavirus or not, the pandemic solidified the need for performing over Zoom.
Greer was asked to create a makeshift studio at home — though she doesn’t recall if it was for “Total Switch” — and it didn’t go as planned.
“I tried, and I cried, a lot, about it,” she recalled. “I was frustrated and I felt old and stupid.”
Thankfully, the studio where she records “Archer” was available and, she said, along with “a lot of people who are better people and smarter people than me,” saved the day.
And while many have spent the past year resenting Zoom and longing for the days of physical contact, Greer said the transition “didn’t feel different,” given her frequent voice work.
“I guess I don’t have a preference” between recording in person or over Zoom, said Greer. “I wasn’t like, ‘Oh my God, this is crazy. I was like, ‘Oh this is going to work.’”
Zoom happy hours though, those might be a different story: “I’m not mad at a Zoom happy hour, but I’m happy to not have to have them anymore,” Greer chuckled.
The show, as it happens, came about at just the right time, she said.
“It was really fun and silly and … it just felt like we were doing something really more creative than I’ve done in a while,” explained Greer. “I was trying to sort of not pandemicize it, but truthfully like, if that could be a separate category — getting out of the house, doing something creative, like, feeling like an actor and an artist again — those were really kicka—. That was really great.”
Asked who she’d switch places with in her own family, Greer said that was tricky … “depending on who’s reading this article.”
She went on to say that switching places could have far greater impact than just comedic fodder.
“If it was for a short period of time, I would switch places with literally anyone, because I think that there could be nothing more interesting and important than like seeing the world through someone else’s shoes, or eyeballs, in this case,” said Greer. “I often think about how different the world would be if we could walk around through the eyes of someone else for a minute and see like really what they see and what they think and what their experience is.”