Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza covers the April/May 2013 issue of Complex magazine. She talks about her internship on Saturday Night Live to her starring role on Parks and everything that led up to that point. The one thing you learn about her is she’s not really like the shy, awkward characters she plays.
You say you want to be a leading lady, but that would mean you can’t hide out in your house anymore. Is that intimidating?
I don’t know. I kind of forget about that part, being famous. I’m not factoring it into my decision-making process. But, yeah, it would definitely suck if I wasn’t able to do normal things anymore. The goal is to have control over my career, and at this point I don’t have that much control. I’m not a big, huge star, so I don’t get to call the shots. I’m still hustling to get my next job. The goal is to be in a position where I can say, “I want to do that, and I don’t want to do that.”Do you enjoy going on talk shows?
I’m getting better at doing interviews, but it’s not something I’m totally comfortable with. I try to treat talk shows like fun performance art pieces.That’s clear from your talk show appearances.
People must think I have a plan. I end up being weird because I can’t be normal in those situations. You’re supposed to pretend you’re having this spontaneous conversation when, really, it’s all planned, and that goes against every instinct in my body. I can’t get on that rhythm, so it ends up being awkward. People must watch those shows and think I’m weird or on drugs. Half of them probably think it’s funny and the other half are annoyed.Comedians talk about how their comedy comes from a dark place of insecurity. Can you relate?
Yeah, totally. Growing up, I had a weird combination of insecurity and not caring about what people thought about me. That’s still how I am to this day. It’s a good thing. As things get bigger for me, that mentality will help.
Hopefully she really is different in real life because talking to her would be more grating than nails on a chalkboard. You’d have an easier time chatting with Helen Keller.