Mindy Kaling kisses and tells on 'Today,' talks image in Vogue

By Nardine Saad

March 27, 2014 12 AM PT

Mindy Kaling has seen a lot of action on “The Mindy Project,” given her character’s very busy love life.

The star, writer and producer of the Fox comedy, which was renewed for a third season this month, has smooched countless guest stars as Dr. Mindy Lahiri, a boy-crazy clotheshorse (think: a much more accomplished, New York version of her “Office” counterpart, Kelly Kapoor, who is still a total hot mess).

In character, Kaling has been involved with James Franco, Ed Helms, Bill Heder, Seth Meyers and Seth Rogen, among others, and on Thursday, “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie asked her if she had a list of Hollywood guys she wanted to guest star so that she could lock lips with them.

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“If I did, Savannah, have a list of Hollywood men that I’d wanna kiss, is that so terrible?” Kaling joked. “No, it’s kind of like one of the perks of the job is like these dudes that I get to kiss, which is fun.”

The 34-year-old said she wished she were more like her character.

“She’s kissed more men in a season than men that I’ve met in my entire life,” Kaling quipped. “But she lives a really fun, dramatic life that I don’t have.”

Guthrie also asked Kaling about the “absurd” play called “Matt & Ben” that she and her friend wrote when they were in their early 20s. The play was based on the bromance between Oscar winners Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and starred Kaling as Affleck and her friend Brenda Withers as Damon.

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The Indian American star said she played the “Argo” director because she has “a big crush on him”

“I think he’s so funny and great. We obviously didn’t know anything about them and he’s awesome,” she said, adding that when she and Affleck met for the first time at a recent award show, he “felt 11 feet tall and so handsome and accomplished,” but she was too star-struck to ask him to guest on “The Mindy Project.”

When the comedy returns from its winter break April 1, it picks up after a steamy in-flight kiss between Mindy and her co-worker Danny (Chris Messina), that takes place just as she’s trying to win back her boyfriend, Cliff (Glenn Howerton).

“You can’t script chemistry,” Kaling said Tuesday night at Paleyfest, referring to the heated make-out session between Mindy and Danny that involved a major butt-grab. “After a while, it became not if they would do it, but when would they do it.”

She told “Today” that the next eight episodes in the season involve a lot of “comedy, sex, lies and secrets.”

MORE: For Mindy Kaling, her character’s flashy style meshes nicely

“The Office” alum and writer is also featured in Vogue’s April “shape” issue (you know, the one that has Kim Kardashian and Kanye West on the cover) and the actress, who is described as “a fluctuating size 10,” discusses her love of all things sartorial and her unconventional body image.

“There’s a whole list of things I would probably change about myself,” she told Vogue. “For example, I’m always trying to lose 15 pounds. But I never need to be skinny. I don’t want to be skinny. I’m constantly in a state of self-improvement.”

She elaborated on the topic in her memoir, “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me,” saying she comes up with elaborate revenge fantasies while jogging and basically diets for fun. But she told the mag she does barre exercises and takes an occasional spin class — “but I don’t beat myself up over it.”

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And that doesn’t stop the social media-savvy selfie queen from using flashy garments to show off her personality. In Vogue, she wears a colorful Dries Van Noten blouse and skirt and polka-dot Oscar de la Renta pumps.

“I love when your clothes can help you project that you’re witty — you know, when your outfit does some of the work for you,” she said. “When I’m at my thinnest, I tend to wear things that don’t show off my body. But when I’m bigger, I’ll go body-con, which comes from a place of, ‘This is my perimeter, in case you were wondering if I was actually much bigger.’ ”

Perhaps Mindy Lahiri’s zany sense of style has also influenced the triple threat? In this behind the scenes video, the actress humorously struggles in the Vogue closet when a demure outfit is chosen for her shoot

“It’s really tempting not to take chances,” she said. “But I don’t want to be fearful. I don’t want my tombstone to say, ‘She hid her imperfections well on the red carpet.’ ”

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