Kirstie Alley talks new Jenny Craig campaign, personal weight journey, career & more

In the mid-2000s, actress Kirstie Alley found weight-loss success using the Jenny Craig program and famously served as its spokeswoman for several years. In 2014, she stepped back in time to that part of her past, as she rejoined the program for another weight-loss effort.

Now starring role in Jenny Craig’s recently-launched new television, print and digital advertising campaign, Alley has stepped back in time to another part of her past: the show Cheers.

To celebrate her personal Jenny Craig-inspired 50-pound weight loss and to promote the program, Alley is being featured in an ad that returns her to her breakout, early-career role as Rebecca Howe in the beloved sitcom.

Kirstie from FacebookIn the spot, the iconic set has been recreated, and Alley – who played Howe from 1987-93 – is reunited with two of Cheers’ other main stars, John Ratzenberger (who played Cliff Clavin) and George Wendt (who played Norm Peterson). Alley makes a splashy entrance into the bar, to Cliff and Norm’s delight, and when they praise her looks, she tells them all about Jenny Craig.

The ad campaign marks the first time the trio have reunited on the set of the award-winning show since it ended more than a decade ago. Alley, whose career began in television in 1978, has had a busy career since Cheers, with some of her many starring roles being: the 1993 film Look Who’s Talking Now, the last in a three-part comedy film franchise which began with Look Who’s Talking in 1989 and co-starred John Travolta; the NBC sitcom Veronica’s Closet from 1997-2000; and the short-lived TV Land sitcom Kirstie in 2013-14.

Serving as Jenny Craig’s spokesperson once again is just her latest foray into the spotlight. The busy star recently took some time to speak with TheCelebrityCafe.com about the campaign, her personal experience with weight loss and gain, and her career – both the rich past, exciting present and promising future.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: Where did the idea for this particular ad campaign – to do Cheers — come from?

Kirstie Alley: The ad campaign idea came from the ad agency (laughing). They ran it by me and I thought at first they were crazy. I just didn’t think we could — I didn’t know if George and John would play ball, and I also had considerations that we were duplicating an iconic set with those iconic actors, and I just wanted it to be really realistic. I couldn’t have been happier. It turned out brilliantly, I think.

TCC: How was the experience?

KA: It was great. It was one of my greatest days of last year, being on set with John and George, falling right back into the rhythm of Cheers and being on set. We just had a great day together. It was sort of sad when we weren’t coming back to work the next day to do more Cheers.

TCC: Your weight loss journey has always been very public. How have you dealt with the scrutiny that’s come with that?

KA: I’ve dealt with the scrutiny of my weight in different ways. I’ve cried, I’ve screamed, I’ve kicked things. I’ve dealt with it a lot of ways, basically. I guess my weight loss up and down has been over the last 10 years. Coincidentally, it’s been more down than up, but I know it might not have that appearance. But anyway, I’ve just dealt with it different ways. I just stay at it and if I gained weight back, I’d just lose it again. I re-partnered with Jenny Craig, and that seems to be the biggest success that I have in the weight loss department, so it’s all good.

TCC: What’s your strategy to maintain this new weight for good?

KA: My strategy this time around is that my [Jenny Craig] consultant Laura will be my consultant for the rest of my life. Even if she becomes the CEO of some other company, I’m still going to call her and go visit her. She’s agreed to this, so I’m pretty excited.

TCC: What advice do you have for people struggling with holiday weight gain?

KA: Most people that I’ve talked to have gained weight over the holidays. I think my advice is to always just set a weight and a goal for yourself that’s real to you and that you really want, not something that someone else thinks you should have, and then just go about it one step at a time. You didn’t gain that weight by eating one big meal, so you just go at it and sooner or later... I think the interesting thing is if you just make the decision and start going in the right direction, before you know it, you really will have that weight off.

TCC: Looking back on 2015, you had some “controversial” social media moments. What’s your philosophy about speaking your mind and how do you handle any backlash?

KA: I think I would be the most boring person in the world if I didn’t ever say anything controversial. To me, it’s not controversial. I guess it becomes controversy with someone who has a different view. I think if you have things to say you think are important and reflect your opinions, which basically all they are are your opinions, then speak out.

TCC: You’ve done movies, television, written a book. What do you get out of working in different art platforms?

KA: I love acting most of all, but I feel like now, more than ever, with any actor, you need to be involved in creating your next movie or your next TV show or your next commercial or your next anything. More than ever. I hate to say this, but I don't think that agents are particularly integral to actors lives as far as getting them work. I think the way you get work, and the way I’ve gotten work most of my career, is you drum up business, think of good ideas, stay creative. That zone, for me to stay creative and keep creating and keep creating, keep selling products is as exciting to me as walking on the set and delivering it.

TCC: You’ve done different genres, but primarily comedy. Was that intentional or has it just worked out that way?

KA: When I first started out acting I didn’t do any comedy, and I was hoping someone would hire me for something comedic. That’s when I got my break. My big break, especially my big comedy break, was when I was hired to do Cheers. From then on it became more comedy with dramatic things interjected in between. I like doing it all, but I think life is more fun in general if you’re doing comedy because at work all day you’re not crying, it’s not intense, someone wasn’t raped, someone wasn’t shot in the head. That stuff's not too funny. So you have a very different lifestyle of how you live that day.

TCC: Now for the future, tell me about your upcoming Netflix show and any other upcoming projects.

KA: I was fortunate enough to do Will Arnett’s new show called Flaked on Netflix and it begins airing in 2016. It’s just a great — let me put it this way, it’s very Will Arnett. His humor to me – I mean when we were filming and I was off camera and he was on camera, you just can’t not laugh. He’s the best sort of subtle, straight-man comedian that I know.

TCC: Do you have a New Year’s resolution?

KA: I have a lot of resolutions. The way I do my New Year’s resolutions is on New Year’s Eve, I start writing in my brand new journal. I take about two weeks and I write down everything I want to accomplish in that following – in this year and it actually becomes sort of a playbook for me because I really take my time. I’m very specific on what I want to get produced, where I want to act, how much money I want to make, what I want to do with my children, where I want to travel to. It’s very detailed and it really becomes my — I have my 2016 playbook.

TCC: If you could join any show on TV right now what would it be?

KA: There’s two. In the dramatic arena I want to play a serial killer on Criminal Minds. In the comedic – you know I love, love, love Modern Family, like the rest of the country does. I just feel like there’s a place for me there, you know like a dramatic drama teacher or something.

TCC: Is there role in your past besides Cheers that you’re particularly proud of?

KA: I would say it this way: I’m proud that somehow, I’ve managed to work for more than 30 years. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, honestly.  Every time I walk on a set, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world and I’m sort of cocky and every time I walk off the set I feel like a loser and I don’t have another job and it’s my demise. I just feel lucky that for 30 years I’ve been able to walk on another set and walk on another set.

To learn about the Jenny Craig program, go to www.jennycraig.com.

WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on your website.

Learn more about debugging in WordPress.