“I have no idea what I did”: Aubrey Plaza doesn’t understand how she earned her reputation
Having mostly been a TV actor for the first portion of her career, recent years have seen Aubrey Plaza star in a flood of great movies, from the chilling Ingrid Goes West to the introspective My Old Ass.
She’s a Golden Globe nominee, a cultural phenomenon, and an all-around icon, but the role that brought Plaza to most people’s attention was that of April Ludgate in the hit sitcom Parks and Recreation, or Parks and Rec as it is called by literally everybody.
As the sardonic, unenthusiastic assistant of Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), April instantly became a fan favourite. The role opened many doors for Plaza, but it’s still probably what she’s best known for.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2022, Plaza recalled how she came to find herself in Pawnee, Indiana. After appearing in Judd Apatow’s film Funny People, she was asked to meet with Michael Schur, the co-creator of Parks and Rec who had previously had a hit with the US version of The Office. She thought the meeting had gone well, but was shocked to discover that the casting director had described her as “the weirdest girl I’ve ever met”.
“I have no idea what I did in that meeting to weird them out so badly,” she admitted, “I think I just didn’t realise what a big opportunity this was for me. I had never been to Hollywood before. I was a huge fan of The Office, and this meeting was on the set of The Office, and I was so distracted by all the famous people walking around, like, ‘Oh my God, it’s BJ Novak! And Mindy Kaling!’ I think maybe they were more used to normal actors who seem like they are actually trying to get the job.”
Plaza would have been in her mid-20s at the time, so she absolutely would have been overwhelmed to be around so many famous people. Of course, she did get the part, and Schur clearly used her as an inspiration for her character, for April is constantly freaking out the rest of her department with her deadpan attitude and unusual hobbies, to the point that you could almost argue that Plaza didn’t have to do a single bit of acting on the entire series.
Over the next two decades or so, she would make a career out of making people feel uncomfortable, both on and off the screen, such as in Dirty Grandpa, where Robert De Niro recalled being weirded out by the sarcastic brunette.
On The White Lotus set, Plaza would apparently play pranks on her castmates, which led to showrunner Mike White having to step in, so while she obviously doesn’t mind playing up her weirdness for the cameras, it clearly isn’t that much of an exaggeration.
She might not understand why that casting director thought she was so odd, but Plaza had made quite a living off people not getting her; long may it continue!
