Max Greenfield says the New Girl cast still keeps in close contact years after the finale
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He admits his kids don't find Schmidt as funny as fans do because "they live with it"
Greenfield also reveals his favorite episode came from season 1
More than a decade afterNew Girlfirst introduced Schmidt's precision grooming and obsessive organization to audiences,Max Greenfieldsays stepping back into that mindset still happens almost automatically — especially when he's around his former castmates.
The actor tells PEOPLE that the chemistry forged during the sitcom's seven-season run remains so intact that reunions instantly revive their old dynamic. "If you put us together in any circumstance, we go right back," Greenfield, 46, says. "It's really scary."
That enduring connection extends beyond occasional get-togethers. Greenfield says he remains in regular contact with the core group, includingJake JohnsonandZooey Deschanel, with friendships that have quietly continued long after the cameras stopped rolling.
"We all keep in touch in a really beautiful way," he says. "I was texting with Jake this morning."
When they do spend time together, he admits Schmidt sometimes resurfaces — to Johnson's amused exasperation. Greenfield laughs, recalling how easily he slips into the character's controlling instincts, even in ordinary situations like airplane travel.
"We were on a plane together … and I'll say to the flight attendant, 'Oh, excuse me — he can't eat this,' and start organizing his food," he says. "He'll be like, 'We're not on the show anymore.' "
Revisiting Schmidt's meticulous tendencies recently for a campaign reminded Greenfield how closely the character still overlaps with his real personality. The experience, he says, reinforced his affection for both the role and the series that shaped his career.
"It's so connected to the character and who that character was," he says. "It brings you back to that role in that show."
At home, however, Schmidt's quirks feel far less novel. Greenfield sayshis children— who have seen parts ofNew Girl— view the character through the lens of familiarity rather than fandom.
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"I don't think they think it's as funny as America, because they live with it," he says. "They're like, 'Ugh, I know.' "
Asked whether he would ever return to Schmidt, Greenfield says the answer is easy — provided the original creative team is involved. Rather than imagining the character's future himself, he says he'd prefer to discover it through the writers who defined him.
"For sure, it would always be fun to jump back in," he says. "I would always just be really excited to see what the writers thought — where they think Schmidt would be — and then I'd jump in and do whatever that was."
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He already knows which episode best captured Schmidt at his core: season 1's "Control," which explored the character's struggle to relinquish order. The story's theme of clinging to small certainties, he says, still resonates in his own life today.
"It really, truly was my favorite episode — the one we submitted for the Emmys," Greenfield tells PEOPLE. "It just dialed in exactly this idea of these little things that we can control in our lives."
Even now, that idea remains surprisingly relevant. "As long as I know the leftovers are stored safely and stacked neatly," he adds, "then I can go to sleep at night and I'm okay."
In fact, Greenfield partnered with Rubbermaid's EasyStore containers for its "Neat Freaks" campaign, which is available now on Amazon.
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