Zachary Levi is the star of the hit NBC series Chuck. Season 3 began Sunday, January 10th at 9/8 central with a two hour season premiere. The season will continue the following night in its regular time slot Monday at 8/7 central. To promote the new season, Zachary Levi answered questions on a conference call interview of which TotallyHer’s Sarah Eve was fortunate enough to be on the line.

When NBC wavered on whether or not to renew Chuck for a 3rd season the unprecedented fan response towards the network and in support of the show was incredible. How does it feel to know the fans are in such strong support of the show?

Zachary Levi: Yeah, I mean, it’s incredibly humbling to say the least. To just have a job is a great blessing but to have a job that you know people care about so much that they, you know, band together and let their voices be heard and, you know, their collective energy and love and also resources.

We knew that we had fans and furthermore I knew that we had really passionate fans. We’re fortunate to be kind of in this world of like, you know, Comi-Con love.

And Comi-Con fans, fans of sci-fi fantasy, they are the most die-hard will stay with you to the bitter end fans and tend to, you know, really know how to band together when it comes to the Internet and blogging and vlogging and any other -ogging for that matter, and making sure that, you know, you don’t go down without a fight and our fans did just that and continue to do just that.

They’re very savvy and very smart. One of our fans, (Wendy Farrington), was the one who was responsible for the Chuck foot-long finale campaign that really got so much heat last season and got everyone banded together to buy Subway sandwiches.

And I think, you know, while that wasn’t the – maybe, you know, lynchpin of what got us back on the air it was certainly a – it was certainly a component of that. And, you know, people took notice, the studio, the networks, Subway themselves they took notice.

And it’s interesting, last season when we weren’t just renewed with everyone else I was kind of, you know, not offended, I mean, I hate to use words like that but you are kind of bummed. You’re like, wow, I thought we were – I thought we were making a really great product that people really loved and why aren’t we being renewed? Why aren’t we coming back for another season?

But then as all this stuff started playing out and as, you know, we were – it was very clear that we were on the chopping block and we were on the bubble and all this fan supported starting coming out, the various, you own, media outlets they started picking it up.

And we got even more love and even more play as far as publicity is concerned then we ever would have gotten had we just renewed quietly in the night. And so I think, you know, everything for a reason.

And I think that there is a lot of reason to how that all went down. And I’m thankful for the experience. I’m thankful that it allowed us to be very in touch and in tune with our fans through the experience and again just very humbling.

Are you excited about Chuck now getting to be a real spy, including fighting?

Zachary Levi: As far as Chuck being able to fight this season I like it very much as an actor and as a man. For two and a half years I’ve – well for two years I kind of sat on the sidelines and watched Adam Baldwin and Yvonne Strahovski, Casey and Sarah respectively, kick bad guys’ butts and was very jealous of that.

Not that Chuck should have been able to do it at that point, you know, he was much better at running away or screaming… like a little girl. But now that he has this new intersect and the abilities that come with that he is able to kind of lend a hand in the kick butt-ery if you will.

But I think that, you know, Chris and Josh and our other writers have crafted that very well so it’s been a – changed really the dynamic of the show or more specifically the dynamic of Chuck and who he is. You know, he’s still the kind of – the somewhat bumbling hero and I think that’s what brings so much of the heart and general premise of the show and keeps that there.

And so though Chuck now has these abilities they’re fleeting, they’re in and out, they’re glitchy. So it lends this new door that we walk through now just lends itself to both more action and more comedy; which I think is good all the way around.

And it doesn’t change the heart of the show which I think, you know, some fans I know were maybe concerned like oh gosh now he’s chasing more and it’s not going to be the same show anymore. Well I can guarantee you I am no (unintelligible) so…

How about as an actor? How will the fighting scenes be for you?

Zachary Levi: All that stuff is super fun. And, you know, and certainly can, you know, be tiring, you know, given enough takes of any particular move. But I feel like I hold up pretty well in that.

I like to consider myself a reasonably athletic guy. I played various sports for, you know, years here and there growing up but most of my growing up was being a spaz and doing theater.

But I had to learn a lot of dance choreography, you doing, plenty of musicals and stuff like that and I picked that stuff up pretty quickly. And I also play a lot of, you know, pickup basketball and various, you know, some ultimate Frisbee or whatever now that I’m, you know, an adult.

My favorite part of the show is the action. I love being able to be a part of a chase. I love being able to fall off of something or run into something or tackle somebody or being in a martial arts fight or, you know, draw guns on people.

The biggest challenge is just my lank-itude, my, you know long limberness and, you know, trying to make that look as snappy as possible. Yeah, I’m about 6’3″, 6’4″, something like that. But thank God we have a great fight coordinator, a great stunt coordinator and great editors.

Chuck is a mix of action and comedy. Is that rough switching gears all the time or has it become second nature?

Zachary Levi: Yeah, I suppose. I mean, I don’t know to say second nature. But certainly after two years of being involved in a show that is such a multi-genre show one would hope that you would start to feel how that works and how to go back and forth between wearing those hats.

And, you know, it’s that’s part of what was so attractive – why the roles in the show were so attractive to begin with. It’s an opportunity to be a part of something that’s not just this one beat that you’re playing you get to be a part of, you know, of many, many styles and tones and although kind of an overall tone to the whole show.

But also Chuck in his heart I feel is very similar to who I am. I mean, you know, we’re both, you know, geeks about video games and comic books and pop culture and great 80s movies and so all that stuff helps lend itself toward being – feeling good in Chuck’s shoes.

And because I love action and have wanted to shot guns since I was a kid or even, you know, know karate since I was a kid all that stuff is stuff that I take on very gladly. I’m really happy for the opportunity especially in this season that, you know, now that Chuck gets to be a part of all that stuff.

And, you know, and it’s so – but it never gets away from the heart of the show which is still action comedy. You know, we definitely have some really kick-butt stuff but we always maintain the kind of, you know, funny bone even in it. So, yeah, it’s been awesome and challenging but a great challenge.

Is there anything that you would like to see Chuck do that maybe you’ve never gotten a chance to do in real life?

Zachary Levi: Well considering I haven’t done much in my real life there’s a whole lot, yeah. No, gosh, I don’t know, I mean, you know, the writers certainly keep me on my toes. And we’ve been doing a lot of fun stuff. I would say most of it is fighting-oriented, various forms of martial arts and in different kind of aspects be it for a moment or for a whole full-fledged fight.

Yeah. So I don’t know, I just – I mean, I’m personally in my own life a very big fan of extreme sports and adrenaline and all that stuff. So the more – but I think honestly almost anything to throw at Chuck would be outside of his norm because he doesn’t do any of that, he experiences of all his adrenaline through video games.

But, yeah, some dancing and some vehicle maneuvering or, you know, whatever the case may be. Skydiving would be awesome. I don’t know how we’d fit that in the budget but, you know, to have a little bit of that going on would be cool or bungee jumping or…

So, you know, to throw anything at him will certainly be out of his comfort zone and make for good entertainment I think.

Don’t forget, Chuck shows in its regular time slot Monday at 8/7 central.