Exclusive: Comedian Fortune Feimster Says She Has a 'Pinch Me Moment' Every 'Couple of Years': 'I'm Grateful'

Fortune Feimster has gotten some pretty amazing opportunities to work with some A-listers over her acting career — which is something she doesn't take for granted.

"Every couple of years, I have some sort of pinch me moment. I mean, the fact that I have a three-hour Netflix special is pretty wild. I never thought I'd have one! I didn't think I would be on a TV show [Fubar] with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Every bit of this job is a pinch me moment because I came from a town of 8,000 people in North Carolina, so this did not seem like a real possibility. I'm grateful for any part of this career," the actress, 44, exclusively tells Morning Honey while talking about her partnership with GREENIES for their latest “Double Dog Dare You” campaign, where she’s challenging pet parents to smell their dog’s breath.

"There were certainly a lot of hard times where I was broke and thought, 'How am I going to pay my bills?' But I never wavered from this being the thing. I knew how much I loved comedy, I knew how much I loved making people laugh. Once I discovered my passion, there was no going back from that," she continues. "The hardest part of anything that we do is what is that that. you want to do? What is the thing you're working towards? It's definitely a difficult road, but I'm so happy that I stuck with it and found a way to pay those bills. It's crazy. I get to make a living making people laugh!"

The comedian absolutely loves when people relate to her anecdotes she shares when doing her stand-up routine. "It's incredible," she says. "My stories are so personal and if people don't like them, you're like, 'This is my life! This is me!' When they tell me that it meant something to them or that it's a part of their lives, it's a cool relationship with the audience. When they come up to me and share those experiences with me, it means a lot because the goal is to make people laugh."

As for what the future looks like, The Mindy Project star has a lot of projects in "development."

"I'm a writer, and so before I even became a comedian, I was a journalist for seven years, and I have written a lot of projects that have beeb bought — but only a couple have been filmed. My bucket list is to have one of those movies or TV shows I've written see the light of day and so people can enjoy them," she says. "I'm really working hard towards that."

The North Carolina native says though she gets told "no" a lot, she knows she just has keep on going. "You just pivot into the next thing," she shares. "It's all about not giving up and continuing the process and trying to come up with new ideas. I think it's also a little bit of right place, right time. I have to keep doing it and hope the right opportunity and the right time will come along."

Ultimately, the Netflix star is all about being "true" to herself, which is one of the many reasons she's skyrocketed to fame. "I've always been me. I've never tried to be anything other than that. Of course I want people to like me, but if they don't, that's OK too. I'm just kind of doing my thing and living my life. I try to pick projects that allow me to be fun and silly but also show heart. In my own standup, I try to be a real person that goes through real things. These are real things that real people deal with, so it's just about being yourself and being authentic and hoping people resonate with it. I don't know how to be anything other than myself except acting and then I try to be somebody else."

Feimster is also excited to call some Hollywood legends her friends. "At this point, I've gotten to work with so many cool people," she states. "I did a movie with Will Ferrell and just shot another movie with him. I'm such a fan of his and grew up watching him on SNL and the fact that he's my friend now is so wild to me. I've also done two movies with Jennifer Garner and she'll always check on me. My dad was having heart problems and she sent him some things from Once Upon a Time as he recovered. These amazing people are so well known but have such big hearts. I also got to be Jennifer Aniston's Uber driver in Office Christmas Party. I've been really lucky to work with some amazing people that I've admired for a long time — and now to know them is a trip."

Despite having a hectic schedule, Feimster is thrilled to be partnering with GREENIES for their latest “Double Dog Dare You” campaign, where she’s challenging pet parents to smell their dog’s breath! With 80 percent of dogs showing signs of oral care disease by the age of 3, and only 27 percent of dog-owning homes purchasing Oral Care treats, Double Dog Dare You is a challenge to show pet parents how to take charge of their dog’s dental health and remind them to utilize GREENIES treats to help as they help support dog’s dental health.

"I love GREENIES. I'm a proud pet parent of my boy Biggie. He's a nine pound Pomeranian, and he loves to get up in my face. I love nothing more than that, but he has some stinky breath! I know it's something we deal with as pet parents, but what I didn't realize is that bad breath is an indication of other dental things. Once I got Biggie, I learned so much more about the importance of dental health and being on top of that," she says. "GREENIES have been a part of our lives for a while, and when they wanted to partner up, it was a perfect melding of my worlds because we love him so much and want him to be happy. I love this campaign!"

The Champions alum also got to film a great campaign in L.A., which was "amazing."

"I got to meet all of these dogs, and it was very off the cuff. We didn't know who was going to come up and what dogs I would meet," she explains. "It was like heaven! I met all these amazing dogs and got to get right up in their face and smell their breath and give them some GREENIES. They were so happy. I loved being silly with the dogs!"

GREENIES also recently rolled out their Canine Dental Check tool here, a new AI powered tool that gives owners insight into their dog’s oral hygiene – before they even head to the vet.

"It's just a very cool company that I'm excited to be partnered with," she concludes.

For more information on GREENIES and to check out the GREENIES Canine Dental Check Tool, pet parents can visit Greenies.com