‘Gigi Does It’s David Krumholtz Loves Being His Grandmother – TCA

David Krumholtz spends about 4 1/2 hours getting the prosthetic makeup required to turn him into the elderly widow Gertrude Rotblum, who has discovered her dead husband had a secret bank account and now is living large in IFC’s Gigi Does It.

Asked about his initial reaction to seeing himself in the makeup for the first time, he told journalists at TCA: “We didn’t know what it was going to look like – there was no design. My grandmother had passed away … and when the makeup finally came together and I put the wig on, what surprised me was I looked like her. She was back, in a way, and my reaction was to get a little teary-eyed. It was overwhelming.

“I’m very separate from the character; it’s more fun being her. It’s hard to drop her at the end of the day when they take off the makeup,” he added.

Krumholtz said he stays in character whenever he’s in the makeup, and the rest of the cast and crew treat “her” accordingly. “I’ve given up my seat for her,” said Ricky Mabe, co-producer who also plays Gigi’s assistant on the series. “People have helped me up from the couch,” Krumholtz added, gleefully.

The first season of eight episodes focuses on Gigi’s search for love. She revisits her passion for ice skating, poses nude for an art class to get over her body image issues, accidentally discovers Internet porn and goes to ridiculous lengths to get her 9-year-old grandson to return her phone call.

Krumholtz originated the character last year for Weather From, a website from Barry Sonders, Zach Golden and Mabe, in which Gigi provided weather forecasts. IFC ordered a presentation in November.