Zooey Deschanel had instant chemistry with Jake Johnson on New Girl

Zooey Deschanel was told she had too much chemistry with Jake Johnson at the start of New Girl.

In the latest episode of the Welcome to Our Show podcast, the 42-year-old actress was asked by co-star Lamorne Morris about a long-standing rumour regarding her relationship with Johnson on set.

"Is it true that there was so much chemistry between you and Jake in the beginning that you guys couldn't be in the same shot together?" Morris asked.

Deschanel confirmed the speculation, recalling that showrunners wanted her chemistry with her on-screen love interest to build naturally "over time".

"I remember them saying that," she said. "They were like, 'Listen, you guys have such great chemistry. This is a series, we have to play this out over time, and we don't want to put you guys in the same storylines together.'"

The Emmy nominee recalled questioning the decision, adding that all of the cast members got on well from the beginning.

"(I asked), 'Isn't that a good thing?' I think we all had good chemistry together from the get-go, in different ways," Deschanel continued. "They did say they wanted to play out that storyline, that our chemistry was really good."