7 Questions with Eliza Coupe of USA Networks’ Benched

Eliza Coupe plays fish-out-of-imported-water Nina Whitley on USA Network’s courtroom comedy, Benched. And while she shares very few character traits her status-obsessed character, Coupe was sold on the part immediately. She reveals, “After the first page of the script, I called my manager and said, “I’m obsessed. This is amazing!” Coupe, who previously starred on ABC’s comedy Happy Endings, gleefully admitted to being a hopeless geek when she answered our 7 Questions.

1. You’re at a magazine rack and can only pick three titles.  Which ones do you choose? 
I probably would choose Newsweek, Architectural Digest, I am such a dork, this is making me look like a dork, and Harper’s Bazaar.

2. If your TV carried just three shows or networks, what would they be?
USA Network, obviously! Showtime and HBO. I’m such a Game of Thrones geek. I’m the biggest GOT geek; I may or may not have read the books too. I know all of the character’s names; I’m that girl.

 3. What are three things that you have to have in your fridge or pantry?
Almond Milk, Avocados, and Dark Chocolate

4. What has been your strangest fan encounter?
Recently I’ve been getting a lot of tweets like “Benched is great, you’re hot.” and I’m like Okay….

Someone else wrote “You’re so great on Community” and went on and on about me on Community. I was on one episode and I wore sunglasses the entire time… that’s what you know me from? Okay. That’s what reeled you in? That’s great.

5. Tell us about a time when you were star struck.
It’s so embarrassing. This was recent. I was at The Comedy Awards two or three years ago and I’ve made it somewhat publicly known that I’ve had an obsession with Jim Carrey that’s more than a normal person should have that this point in their career as an actor. I’ve always had a slight obsession with Jim Carrey, that turned into a crush, that we can’t go too far into. But I was at The Comedy Awards, and he was back stage, and I was talking to someone and they could have been telling me the most terrible or the most wonderful things and I couldn’t have cared less. I was looking just over their head at Jim Carrey and I was just about to pee in my pants, hyperventilate or run out of the room. I can’t even recall who I was talking to.

Later, I was still backstage, and I was told to move, and I backed into a box and when I turned around Jim Carrey was sitting on it. I’m pretty sure my ass was in his face. He wasn’t even paying attention but I couldn’t even say anything, I just made some weird noise and walked away. It was the most embarrassing thing; I wish I had said, “Hey, you’re the guy who got me into comedy and now I’m presenting at the comedy awards because of you.” He’s the whole reason I do what I do.

6. Is there a movie you can watch over and over again?
There are a couple of them: oddly enough when I was younger, this is so weird, I’m realizing what a dork I am, I could watch 4 Weddings and a Funeral over and over again. Any Hugh Grant movie I can watch over and over again. I don’t know what means about me. I also watch Tropic Thunder a lot, and Goonies. This isn’t making me look very cool. I’m a geek.

 7. Do you have a favorite TV lawyer?
I just recently started watching The Good Wife, and Juliana Margolis’ character Alicia Florrick is pretty great. And I really liked Greg Kinnear’s lawyer in Rake; I thought he was hilarious.

Catch Eliza on Benched, Tuesdays at 10:30pm ET on USA Network