The beauty in film is the emotion that derives from it, and when Aubrey Plaza is in the cast list, fans eagerly expect the humor attached to her iconic wide-eyed stares, sardonic smiles, bluntness and dripping sarcasm. Both on-screen and beyond, Aubrey paves way for humor whether it be from her facial reactions and mannerisms or her general awkwardness in moments of discomfort.
Aubrey's characters, before venturing and delving into more versatile roles, dances around being wholeheartedly, farcically deranged, a not-so-suffering hikikomori or an enthralling, snarky mean girl like Julie Powers in Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Fans especially loved one of her quirky misanthropic characters, April Ludgate, in the satirical sitcom, Parks and Recreation, which entailed a bizarre and awkward audition process.
The casting director for Parks and Recreation, Allison Jones, told the creator of the show, Mike Shur, that Aubrey was indeed rather weird.
"Allison Jones, who is one of the people who cast the show, called me and said, “I just met the weirdest girl I’ve ever met in my life. You have to meet her and put her on your show.” Aubrey came over to my office and made me feel really uncomfortable for like an hour, and immediately I wanted to put her in the show. We didn’t totally know what we were going to do with her, we just thought it would be funny if Leslie had a college-aged intern who she wanted to inspire, and that that person would be Aubrey Plaza." - Mike Shur.
Well, Aubrey definitely has a strange yet adored personality, and she embraces it unapologetically.
Aubrey Doesn't Shy Away From her True Self
Aubrey Plaza was born to her attorney and senior financial advisor parents who always knew she would be rather special. They described her to be extremely shy growing up, but even in her youth was “actively doing little skits at home and creating home movies.”
“It was mysterious and haunting—what was so special about this girl, one could only imagine and never really know,” says Bernadette Plaza. “It is very fitting for Aubrey. It’s hard to put into words what makes her so special, but I always knew she would be.” - Bernadette Plaza
The pair named her after the song 'Aubrey' by the 1970s pop group, Bread. Plaza, to this day, finds the origins of her name rather comedic, poking around the fact that she was named after physical bread. As her life continually unfolds, it seems who she is as a person is a felicitous match to the lyrics of her name-inspired song, as she is "A not so very ordinary girl".
Her former high-school boyfriend and current Broadway star, John Gallagher Jr, described Aubrey as "a female teenage small-town Andy Kaufman", eccentric, sarcastic and someone who blurs the lines on the spectrum of seriousness or comedy, leaving others guessing. In an interview with The Telegraph, Aubrey confesses that her personality stems from her genuine interest and curiosity towards the comedic realm of life.
“I’m just always interested in the silliness and the weirdness and the uncanniness of life ... I’ve always made a spectacle of myself in public. I’ve always humiliated myself in large groups of people.” - Aubrey Plaza in an interview with The Telegraph
Aubrey Plaza Stomps On Her Anxiety For Talk Shows Through Humor
Aubrey Plaza has been very transparent in her dislike for appearing on talk shows. She is known to have an iconic, funny and unique personality, but behind the screen she faces an existential crisis with every live appearance she makes.
Aubrey appeared on the off camera show and was interviewed by Sam Jones in August 2016. This interview amassed over 1.8 million views, and fans truly enjoyed Aubrey's honesty, openness and genuineness. Many comments under the YouTube video were appreciative of Sam for giving Aubrey an opportunity to speak comfortably, without the pressure of rehearsal, interruptions or overextended fake reactions to her serious words.
“I’m more comfortable working and being. Even stand up was different as, even though I only did it for a little while, I was not being myself. I was like being a persona. Like a heightened version of myself, and I just always have this like existential crisis whenever I go on those shows. Because it’s so weird to just try to be yourself, when you have no idea how to do that”. - Aubrey Plaza, 2016.
It seems that in the realm of celebrities and fame, sociability is intrinsic to likability and sometimes success. Perhaps Aubrey's discomfort with rehearsed conversations and live appearances stems not only from anxiety, but the expectation that she will behave like a star celebrity rather than a human.
In a more recent interview with Alexandra Pollard for Independent early 2021, she discussed her perceived hilarity on the format of live television. Many fans seem to agree, condemn live television to most commonly be hosted by middle-aged men who provide fake reactions and interest in many of their celebrity guests. It's no wonder Aubrey dislikes appearing on them, seeing as she has to perform another act of being someone she is not, except it is a role she truly dislikes.
“I think it’s hilarious that people know me from my talk show appearances and not my actual work ... I just think that they’re silly, and the format makes me uncomfortable on so many levels, so my way of dealing with it is to just play into that. But I think there is an element of me unconsciously giving people what they want. You’re weird on talk shows and then people expect that again, and then you get caught in this trap. It’s funny because I’m very nervous before I go on. I don’t have this elaborate performance ready; I’m literally just trying to be normal. But I can’t do it.” - Aubrey Plaza, 2021.
It seems that her discomfort and subsequent awkwardness has caught the attention of many, leading to many compilation videos of her 'funniest interview moments' taking off online.
