Guy Fieri reveals the reason behind his radical ‘new look’
Guy Fieri surprised and confused fans when he debuted a new clean-shaven look earlier this month. Turns out, it’s for a Super Bowl commercial.
The longtime Sonoma County resident gave an exclusive interview to People magazine Monday about the transformation and the ad for home appliance maker Bosch.
On Jan. 22, Fieri celebrated his 58th birthday by posting an Instagram video that showed him without his signature spiky blonde locks and goatee, instead with a neatly parted brown hairdo. The post was simply captioned, “New Year. New Guy. New Look.”
The commercial, which Fieri and Bosch teased on Monday with a 15-second clip, will feature the celebrity chef in a dual role as both as the larger-than-life character that audiences know and the buttoned-up “JustaGuy” alter ego, Fieri told People.
“You’re either going to want to buy a life insurance policy from me or you’re going to want to go out to Bingo,” Fieri told the magazine about his new look, which he said even fooled his wife Lori on set.
“She’d look at me and go, ‘Oh — it’s you. I didn’t even know it was you,’” he said in the interview.
Bosch also posted a video Monday of Fieri’s “JustaGuy” persona demonstrating how to make a boring bologna sandwich — until he transforms back into the Mayor of “Flavortown.”
A Bosch spokesperson told People the new look is not AI, rather achieved as part of a grueling two-day shoot that Fieri said included a wig that took two hours to apply. and “High-end post-production visual effects” were used to complete the look, the company said.
“It was the craziest 24 to 26 hours of my filming career,” Fieri told People.
When Fieri debuted his “JustaGuy” look last week, reactions poured in on Instagram, led by a joke from his son Hunter: “Dad… when did you start selling insurance?”
Fieri told People the real surprise will come when the full commercial airs during the Super Bowl on Feb. 8. “You’re not ready,” he said.