The last time Rebecca Reid was seen on New Girl, her character's brief fling with Schmidt (Max Greenfield) left him stuck in a penis cast for the duration of the summer hiatus.
Sadly, Nadia's return for the Oct. 23 episode, "Models," will not reunite her with her former conquest -- but it does shed more light on Cece's (Hannah Simone) stern, Eastern European roommate-coworker.
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"I've definitely met Russian models like that," Reid, a model herself, tells The Hollywood Reporter. "It's not a complete caricature. These people do exist. I like that Nadia has a little bit of an evil streak, but I think she does care. She's just a bit of an outsider."
Reid originally auditioned for the part when the show contacted her modeling agency to find some intimidatingly taciturn roommates for Cece. Thanks to creator Liz Meriwether, the five words originally scripted for Nadia have thus far parlayed into three episodes -- and one of last season's more memorably GIF-ed moments.
"My focus is definitely on comedy and being on the show has been kind of a dream," says Reid, who was sorry she missed out on season premiere's Schmidt rebranding. "I love doing scenes with Max, and I thought that was fun that he got a little celebration from the penis."
This time around, Nadia shares most of her scenes with Cece and Jess (Zooey Deschanel), the latter having to join the ranks of models when Cece's birthday party goes awry. "They go to an illegal warehouse party for Cece's birthday, which is coupled with a little bit of Nadia's craziness and not knowing how to talk to people," says Reid.
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Reid is modeling less these days, instead filling her time between TV gigs by honing her stand-up routine she shows off at L.A.'s Laugh Factory and Hollywood Improv.
"From my experience of being a model, it's fun for a minute and then after a while making a living off of your looks gets a bit tiring," she says. "I feel my most comfortable when I'm on stage, in an evening dress with a sandwich."
Check out a bit of Reid doing just that in the clip below, and watch her Tuesday return to New Girl at 9 p.m. on Fox.
