Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Melissa Fumero: On Nixing Sugar & Samberg-isms
Last night marked the season 2 premiere of Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a show from SNL alum Andy Samberg. Set in a fictional precinct of the NYPD, Samberg co-stars with Detective Amy Santiago (aka Melissa Fumero), who we sat down to discuss the new season with. Turns out Fumero’s got a penchant for coffee, color coordination and anything funny Andy Samberg says…
From start to finish, what would be your ideal food day?
Are we talking real life ideal food day or fantasy my-stomach-is-a-bottomless-pit-and-I-metabolize-everything-I-eat-as-though-it-were-a-carrot ideal food day? Oh, okay I’ll do both!
Real life: Breakfast would be Greek yogurt with berries and homemade granola. Lunch is a bed of brown rice topped with a fried egg and avocado drizzled with basil infused olive oil. Dinner is roast chicken (Ina Garten’s recipe is my favorite) surrounded by roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, and caramelized onions, and a big glass of some delicious bold red wine.
Fantasy day would be brunch at Sycamore Kitchen with their scrambled egg and chorizo sandwich and their Iced Café Cubano, then I would teleport (it’s a fantasy!) to Miami to have a Cuban Sandwich at Cuban Crafters. It’s actually a huge cigar shop, and in the back you can get an amazing Cuban sandwich and espresso. For dinner, I would teleport to New York and have dinner at Becco on 46th Street where my best friend Jim is the general manager. He’ll fill my table with prosciutto, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and their super yummy Caesar salad. I’d get their unlimited pasta dish, which is three different pastas they make fresh everyday (pumpkin ravioli is my favorite), their Osso Bucco (it’s insanely good), and finish off with Panna Cotta, all while sipping on Prosecco and fine red wine that Jim picks out for me.
What are your morning and nightly beauty routines?
Morning is kept simple, just a splash of water and some moisturizer. At night, I always make sure to go to bed with a clean face. I wash it with a gentle cleanser to get all my makeup off, swipe some toner or Witch Hazel with aloe to get off anything left behind, and then it’s Oil of Olay firming night cream and whatever eye cream I’m currently testing out.
How do you practice beauty from the inside out?
I feel my best when I’m eating clean, meaning little to no processed foods. Sugar is not my friend, and definitely makes me gain weight and feel sluggish. I do struggle with keeping my sugar intake down while we’re shooting Brooklyn Nine-Nine because of all the coffee I drink on set. We chose our battles, and I’ll choose coffee any day over the candy and other sugar latent options at our craft service table. And water. Lots of water.
Pre and post shoot routines for Brooklyn Nine-Nine…
Pre-shoot is a large amount of espresso and water because it’s 5 or 6am, and I still can’t believe someone’s expecting me to perform at that ungodly hour. Post-shoot is just washing all my makeup off, shaking my hair out of whatever constricting bun it’s been in all day, and flopping on my couch to just veg out.
Funniest thing Andy Samberg has said to you on set so far…
Lately his weird west coast/bay area-isms have been really making me giggle. Like “that’s tight!” for something dope or cool, or “that’s so rugged” for something badass or edgy (I think), or the word wang instead of penis. It just all makes me crack up.
Things we don’t know about a few of your cast members…
Andre (Braugher) has a really beautiful singing voice; someone needs to cast him in a movie musical at some point. Stephanie (Beatriz) sounds and acts nothing like Rosa; it’s a complete transformation. Joe (Lo Truglio) really is a foodie, and sometimes when he’s talking about food he actually sounds exactly like Boyle; it’s hilarious. Real Terry (Crews) really does eat a lot of yogurt, just like TV Terry.
What can we expect from Season Two?
Oh man, lots of shakeups! We get to see Holt shaken, and slightly off his game when an old enemy comes back into his life. Gina and Charles…what’s gonna happen?! I can’t tell you. Jake sees Amy for the first time since telling her his feelings before going undercover. It’s awkward, then maybe it’s not, then maybe it is…I can’t tell you!
What’s always in your on set trailer fridge?
It’s empty. I don’t need any temptation to snack while I’m waiting in my dressing room. If I’m really hungry, I can get off my butt and go look for food.
What are you all snacking on, on set?
This year we’re all into these bean chips they have at craft service. They’re gluten-free chips made out of beans. There’s also healthy popcorn, meaning it’s just popcorn without a bunch of sugar or dressing. Around noon, our craft service guy, Josh, always brings out a large plate filled with goodies like spring rolls, chicken skewers, bread with egg or chicken salad, marinated olives, or deli meat roll-ups. We usually hold out for that.
What’s your workout routine like?
I get bored easily when it comes to working out, so I’m always trying to mix it up. I like to be outdoors, so hiking, walking, or light jogging are usually my go-tos. I love yoga and have been practicing on and off since college. I try different styles and classes, or I practice at home outside on my deck. When I first moved to LA, I tried a lot of the barre classes here, from Cardio Barre to Pop Physique. Whenever I need some new motivation for working out, I’ll try a new class or something I can do outdoors like stand-up paddle boarding, a new hike, or biking. You have to keep it fun!
Qualities you share with your character…
We’re both very organized. My closet is color coordinated, and I bet Amy’s is too.
Words to act by…
Laugh or at least smile everyday, even if you have to force it.
What are your favorite cities for food? What restaurants do you go to in each?
In my opinion, there aren’t many cities that beat New York for food. I’ve already mentioned Becco as one of my favorites; others include Lido and Bad Horse Pizza up in Harlem, Boqueria downtown, and Coffee Shop in Union Square. We (the cast) recently went to Montreal for the Just for Laughs Festival, and we ate at several amazing restaurants, including L’Orignal and Au Pied de Cochon. I love French food and just gorged on so many delicious things. At Cochon they have a dish called “duck in a can.” They open a can at the table, and dump duck, veggies, and this glorious sauce that has been marinating and cooking for who knows how long over some whipped cauliflower onto a plate. That duck was so damn good I wanted to stand on my chair and describe to everyone the flavor explosion that was occurring in my mouth.
*Melissa Fumero, photographed at Sycamore Kitchen in Los Angeles, CA by Danielle Kosann.
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