Liberty Mutual's 'LiMu Emu & Doug' star makes web series about George Washington living in coronavirus era

Brent Hallenbeck, Burlington Free Press
·2 min read

What does a temporarily unemployed actor who moved from Los Angeles to Vermont in time to sequester during a pandemic do with his newfound spare time?

He creates a web series about George Washington trying to solve the COVID-19 crisis.

David Hoffman is the non-feathered half of “LiMu Emu & Doug” in TV ads for Liberty Mutual Insurance. Hoffman said new commercials are waiting to be aired while shooting remains postponed.

In the meantime, he and his wife, photographer Jaime Kowal, are home outside Stowe, where Hoffman is producing the web series “George Washington Is Here to Help.” Hoffman plays our nation’s first president and reporter Peter Salazar, who helps the founding father navigate the 21st century.

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“I’ve been really, really creatively engaged,” says Hoffman, who’s living off Liberty Mutual residual payments.

He says the oddball ads showcasing him and a flightless bird match his creative sensibilities.

“It’s exactly what I asked for, my exact criteria for doing commercials,” says Hoffman, who’s been in TV shows including “Bones” and “Modern Family.” “The biggest thing that it does is it gives me freedom. Instead of chasing paychecks and doing stuff I’m not proud of, now I can be way more selective and afford to do the George Washington series, which is one of my favorite things ever, and not worry about a paycheck.”

David Hoffman, an actor who lives outside Stowe, Vermont, is featured in the series of "LiMu Emu & Doug" commercials for Liberty Mutual.
David Hoffman, an actor who lives outside Stowe, Vermont, is featured in the series of "LiMu Emu & Doug" commercials for Liberty Mutual.

Hoffman, 43, said the hardest part of the COVID-19-related shutdown is the couple can’t eat at restaurants they fell in love with after moving to Vermont in September. Still, Vermont is more to their liking than L.A., pandemic or no.

“The first thing is the clean air,” Hoffman says. “It’s such game-changer. And the quiet, the green – it’s called the Green Mountain State. The green is so breathtaking. To be in it every day is just amazing.”

David Hoffman is creating a web series in which George Washington arrives in 2020 to help deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Hoffman is perhaps best known for his role in the "LiMu Emu & Doug" commercials for Liberty Mutual.
David Hoffman is creating a web series in which George Washington arrives in 2020 to help deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Hoffman is perhaps best known for his role in the "LiMu Emu & Doug" commercials for Liberty Mutual.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: George Washington enters coronavirus era in new quarantine web show