Max Greenfield almost quit acting before New Girl break

New Girl star Max Greenfield almost quit acting before landing his role in the hit comedy.

The actor appeared in a string of TV shows throughout his 20s, but seriously considered becoming a writer after his wife gave birth to their first child.

Weeks after asking a friend for a junior writing job on another series in 2011, he was cast as wise-cracking Schmidt, a role which has garnered him both Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations.

Greenfield tells TheWrap.com, "Right before New Girl happened, there were definitely moments of, 'I probably shouldn't do this anymore.'

"I just had a kid and at one point was like, 'At what point does this become selfish?' You don't want to become a dad who is running around and saying, 'I just got a callback on a guest star on (TV comedy) The Middle.' I just didn't want to be that guy.

"Just before New Girl, I called a buddy of mine and asked for a job as a writing assistant. Unfortunately I didn't go to college so I wasn't qualified for anything else. But (my friend) ran that show and I thought, maybe I'll start at the very lowest point for a writer and see what happens with that, because this doesn't seem to be happening as an actor."