An interview with Jackie Tohn is a mechayeh — it gives life. In general I feel like that particular Yiddish word — mechayeh — shouldn’t be said unless you have a luscious white mustache and a regal mane of white hair, or you grew up actually speaking Yiddish on the regular.
But as the youth (used to?) say: Jackie Tohn definitely gives me life. Even when the Jewish “Nobody Wants This” and “Glow” star is couch-ridden after a back injury!
Tohn’s latest project is “The Floaters,” a movie set at a very Jewish summer camp, out in theaters this July 10. Tohn plays Nomi, a rockstar who gets kicked out of her band. She is drafted by her best friend, Mara (Sarah Podemski) to help steer her Jewish summer camp, Camp Daveed, and its “floaters” — the camp misfits — in the right direction, all while dealing with crumbling infrastructure and a bitter rivalry with neighboring Camp Barack, helmed by polo-wearing, golf-cart-riding Daniel (Seth Green).
Tohn is a kveller, and interviewing her is always a delight. We spoke about her own Jewish summer camp experience, her Jewish parents, her onscreen mother in law Tovah Feldshuh and her adorable dogs (Glenn and Steven Spielberg). At one point she broke into song, revisiting an Elton John camp parody and her own summer camp anthem. She also showed me how she tricks Glenn the dog into believing she’s no longer in the room (she hides under a blanket). I wish I could share the entire conversation, but here are some of the highlights.
On her Jewish summer camp experience
I have a deep history with Jewish summer camp, like Adon Olam services on Friday night, the whole thing.
My parents were a camp family. My dad went to Camp Alamar — I think it was in upstate New York — he and his brothers, they all went to Alamar. My dad was working at Camp Roosevelt — again, upstate New York — and it got shut down, so we relocated in 1988 to Camp Lokanda.
I was born a few days after camp ended in 1980 — my mom was super pregnant that summer. They went back to Long Island, and a couple of days later my mom had me. So then the next summer when I was 1 year old, I was at camp. My parents were at camp. My mom was the camp mother, camp driver, and my dad was like the head of the waiters. Then I worked at Twin Oaks Day Camp on Long Island during high school, and then I moved to Los Angeles.
On being a camp superstar
My favorite part of camp was definitely performing. I was a big talent show girl. My dad would play the piano, and I would sing “The Rose” or “Don’t Cry Out Loud.” I was a bit of, if you will, a celebrity at camp — far before I ever got an acting job — but in a joking way, like when we did camp skits for Color War, someone dressed up as me and sang “Don’t Cry Out Loud.” He was a grown man… in fact, he wasn’t a grown man, maybe I was 11, and he was 15, 16… he felt like a grown man. He put on the wig and performed “Don’t Cry Out Loud” and it was like an SNL parody of me, because I just was constantly performing at camp.
My favorite camp song was the Camp Wakanda song that was written over through the years. [Insert Jackie doing a rousing rendition of the song here.]
On camp crafts and Jewish hoarding
I just remembered I was such a badass in the wood shop. I made a gumball machine, I made a sign for my parents.
Kveller: I bet they have it still.
Of course they do, it says “The Tohns!” They’re good at not getting rid of stuff.
Kveller: Yes, that checks out.
You’re like… so, Jewish? I love it. When I talk to my goyishe friends, they’re like, “My mom just sold that, she got rid of everything,” and I’m like, “My mom has scrapbooks of every time I was mentioned in the local newspaper!”
Kveller: Listen, we know how to pack light when we need to get out of places, but we’re going to keep our things until then!
On working with Sarah Podemski
Sarah Podemski is so awesome, and so grounded, and so smart, and such a good actor, and so funny, and so it’s just a delight to work with her. It’s not, you know, obviously this is the cliche of all cliches, but it’s not work! It’s like, Sarah and me hanging out.
On working with Seth Green
Working with Seth is great. I’ve known Seth. I met him at the “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” premiere that I went to as Kristen [Bell]’s date — we became homies. We have very similar senses of humor, and we’ve just been friends ever since… working with him was a dream.
On her BRCA1 diagnosis
Oh boy. So my dad found these lumps under his arm in January of 2025 and they couldn’t find out where the primary cancer was, so then they tested him, they did all the genetic testing… and he came back BRCA1 positive, which I’m pretty sure saved my life.
I went and got tested. I unfortunately had it. It’s interesting, when I talk about it now, I’m like, very machine, like, I had it, I got a double mastectomy…
Kveller: It was obviously very emotional when it was happening.
It still is. I could cry about it anytime… I’ve never been through a medical trauma like this, but there are certain times when I can just absolutely flatly talk about it, give you some facts, and have a great day. And then there are other times where I like just can’t get through it for whatever reason.
On having a camp rabbi
We didn’t really have a camp rabbi, actually. We just had the camp father, who was named Ira Seinfeld, and his wife Lois Seinfeld. Ira Seinfeld wore a polo and long khaki shorts and big, thick-soled, you know, Rockport sneakers, or whatever, and very tall socks that had stripes at the top that went up to, like, his mid shin, almost knee.
On “Nobody Wants This,” Season 3
Kveller: After watching you sing in “The Floaters,” I’m really jonesing for a “Nobody Wants This” musical episode.
I also need there to be a “Nobody Wants This” musical episode. I think the only people who wouldn’t want to jump off a bridge would be me and Kristen. Everybody else would not be pumped.
Kveller: It would be so good, or even just you singing a Passover medley. I don’t know. Just give me some punk rock “Chad Gadya,” Jack Black style. He would be a great guest star!
That’s a great idea. You know, we have [Sarah] Silverman this year!
Kveller: And she’s a rabbi! Are you excited for this new season to be out?
Oh, so, so excited. I mean, can’t wait. It’s a show about this Jewish family, but it’s like they just happen to be Jews. They’re existing in a space there, but they just happen to be Jews.
I love that show for a trillion reasons, but the number one reason is Jewish joy. It just feels good. Thank goodness there are as many historically accurate, horribly dark movies and stories and books about the nightmares that the Jews continue to go through and have always gone through, but [I love that our show is] just some Jewish joy.
Kveller: And Tovah Feldshuh.
She’s unbelievable. She still doesn’t stop doing push-ups before every scene.
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