Yes, Kristen Bell and Adam Brody know that they are portraying characters closer to their 30s in Nobody Wants This.
The 10-episode series follows the romance of agnostic podcaster Joanne (Bell) and Rabbi Noah (Brody) as they navigate their contrasting personal lives and the role religion plays in your life. At the time of the show’s release in September 2024, Bell and Brody are both 44 years old.
While Nobody Wants This doesn’t get specific about ages, but both stars feel like the characters are likely younger than them. The show was also inspired by creator Erin Foster’s real-life romance with her husband, Simon Tikhman, who she met in her late 30s.
Bell, for her part, revealed during an episode of the “Armchair Expert” podcast in September that her character was “30 … 12.” Bell added, “I think we were both maybe in the same boat of going, ‘Is anyone going to acknowledge or are we going to talk through that we’re probably 10 years too old to be doing this particular character duo?’”
Scroll down to see what Bell and Brody have said about playing younger ages in Nobody Wants This:
Adam Brody Was Concerned About Age When He Was Cast
When he was cast on Nobody Wants This, Brody said “one of his biggest concerns” was about his age. “I’m very comfortable with my age,” he clarified on the “Armchair Expert” podcast. “I just don’t want to pretend to be 10 years younger. I want you to reconcile that you’re casting me and you’ve got to allot for that amount of time that this person has been on this earth and he’s in this position.”
Adam Brody and Kristen Bell Bring ‘Lived Experience’ To Their Characters
Brody explained how he brought his real-life perspective to the screen on Nobody Wants This. “These characters that are at an earlier stage [in their relationship], they’re wise in their own ways,” he told Netflix’s Tudum in September. “But I think Kristen and I can also bring a lived experience to [them] and help inform the reality of coupledom a bit.”
Lots of ‘Discussions’ About Kristen Bell and Adam Brody’s Characters’ Ages
In Bell’s perspective, the characters being at an older age set the series apart. “The facts are: I read this, I thought it was such a thoughtful, fresh, edgy take on a rom-com,” Bell told The Los Angeles Times in September. “I loved the fact that we weren’t 22. It felt very real.”
Bell reflected on the mature romance in Nobody Wants This, which contrasted to popular reality TV shows where contestants tend to be in their 20s. “Like when a 22-year-old is crying that it’s their last chance at love? We did have a lot of these discussions about how old [our characters] are. We still don’t know their ages — mid 30s, late 30s, early 40s,” she told the outlet.
Brody noted that the characters in the show both have jobs and form their relationship quickly while attempting to figure out how they fit into each other’s lives. “Versus the will they or won’t they attempt anything forever or it’s a one-night stand and so and so overheard this and there’s a misunderstanding,” he noted.
For Bell, the story is “not about our status to one another or in our group of friends, which I find a lot of younger love stories tend to be about.” She added, “It’s about what could we mean to each other going forward, which is innately a very adult question.”
