Happy Sad Confused - Aubrey Plaza

Episode Date: April 26, 2018

If you think you know Aubrey Plaza from her character on "Parks & Recreation" or her delightfully deadpan talk show appearances, you've only seen a part of her. On this episode of "Happy Sad Confused," get to know the real Aubrey! She's complex and conflicted, dry and earnest, self-critical and cocky, and most of all, very ambitious.  In this chat, Aubrey talks about her heady show "Legions" (now in it's second season on FX), why Bill Murray recently called her up, what 80s sitcom she was obsessed with, and her secret script she's working on that's inspired by "Mrs. Doubtfire"! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

D.C. high volume, Batman. The Dark Nights definitive DC comic stories adapted directly for audio for the very first time. Fear, I have to make them afraid. He's got a motorcycle. Get after him or have you shot. What do you mean blow up the building? From this moment on,

none of you are safe. New episodes every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. Today on HappySat Confused, Aubrey Plaza on Legion, Parks and Recreation, and Staying Positive. Hey, guys, I'm Josh Horowitz. Welcome to the show. The show is my show. It's called Happy Say I Confused.

It's a podcast. You're listening to it. You might be on a treadmill. You might be in the car. You might be in bed. I don't know. That's not my business. My Business, Making Podcasts for You.

Today's show is the wonderfully talented, the wonderfully dry, humorous, all-round, interesting, to say the least, young lady, Aubrey Plaza. Aubrey is a first-time guest to Happy Second Fuse, though not a stranger to me and my shenanigans. I've known Aubrey for a long while, and she's great. And this was a fun, interesting conversation. I've never had this kind of lengthy chat with Aubrey. And I think there are a lot of misconceptions about her, people that kind of read her as her character from Parks and Recreation. And she's definitely not that.

She's a very thoughtful, engaging, and ambitious actor. You know, certainly we know she can do comedy, but there's a lot more to Aubrey than sketches and parks and recreation, et cetera. She's one of the best at that kind of thing, but as evidenced by something like Legion, her current new show now in its second season on FX, she's got an incredible range. And I think the next five, ten years we're going to see a lot more varied, interesting roles from Aubrey Plaza. This conversation was, I don't know, she's, Aubrey's great because she's very frank and she's very self-deprecating and open and honest about. You know, I said in the intro about staying positive and she was very much like trying to kind of enjoy or put on a happy face to do press, which can sometimes, you know, I think Aubrey, when she's on talk shows, she's so deadpan in some scenarios that people can read that as her personality. And as I said, there's a lot more to it than that. She is promoting Legion, this heady, crazy show from Noah Hawley. If you haven't gotten on the Legion bandwagon yet, it's not too late. The first

season, I think, was eight episodes. Second season is just underway, a couple episodes in and it's a trippy, bizarre show from Noah Hawley, the same genius that has made the Fargo TV series. And to boot, it's

based in the Marvel world, also stars Friends of the podcast, Dan Stevens. So if that's not enough to get you interested in Legion, gosh, darn it, I don't know what to do. For context, trying to think in the in the conversation here what's good to know what one episode we did talk about briefly that i referenced i don't know if i contextualized it enough in the conversation so i'll do it

here is a few years back um you know my my day job uh most often over the years has been as a correspondent for n tv news um one year at the ntv movie awards aubri plaza you can look this up um you know did this kind of like crazy storming the stage kind of gag when will feral was accepting a big award. It didn't necessarily produce maybe the results that she wanted at the time. I had a very unique vantage point on it, having been working at MTV, being backstage, sort of seeing it all go down. And, you know, I was just curious to pick her brain about sort of her reflections on that. So that, that's what we're referencing way back when. All water under the bridge. Everything's good. So just wanted to get her perspective on that years later. But anyway, what more context do you need?

This is a very talented, interesting actor, Aubrey Plaza, for your ears, for your consideration, for your minds. I hope you enjoy this. And as always, please spread the good word of happy, say, confused via social media, if you so desire. Or, you know what, drop us a review on iTunes. Rate, review, subscribe. Those are the three R's I want drilled into your brain today. It means a lot and thank you in advance. Without further ado, here is Aubrey Plaza.

Get it all out. Just get it, just... How long is this going to last? 40 delicious minutes. Really? No. A heart to heart. Yeah, we're going deep.

What do we know? That's not the way to start a conversation. All right. Wait, are we rolling? Yeah. No, we're not. We don't have to if you want. Are we rolling now?

Yeah, we are. No, we're not. Look at the red thing. What is that? What are you blowing into? Is that a breathalyzer? When you smell your breath? It was just a mint.

Is that how you eat mint? I just had a mint, too. We're so in sync. Look, would you care for an altoid? Yes, please. As many things as I can put inside of my body. There you go. Cizzars, we've got it.

I'll literally eat one of those tic tic tacks. That's not a tic tic, it's a pushpin. No one listening to this knows what the real truth is. How many pushpins do you think you could? It's a tic tic, everyone. It's a clear box full of tic tic tic. It's good to see you, Aubrey. Do you want to tell the audience any more lies?

You want to reciprocate. About what's on your desk. Don't you want to reciprocate? That's usually the common thing. Oh, God. It's going to be one of those. Yeah, that's the sound you're hearing. Oh.

You really got the bug from your ASMR, didn't it? You know the power of the microphone. Oh, so you've heard of my ASMR channel. I'm a little bit annoyed about it because I've been wanting to do some ASMR fun with people. and then Vanity Fair just steals my idea that's in the public domain. Oh, was it? Okay, whatever. I am really obsessed with ASMR, actually.

So when they asked me to do that, they had no idea that I actually watched those videos. And we're not prepared. Yeah, and they weren't prepared for my 40-minute-long ASMR demonstration. Do you watch them, is it an ironic watch? What are you getting at it? No, I really like it. It soothes me and relaxes me.

And part of the video, I did this thing with my hair that I do all the time, but I finally got to share it with the world where I make a loop and then I scrunch it in my ear and make a very specific sound. I can do it for you. But this will cost you like $10 million. It's about 9.99 over my budget. Oh, look at the, it's worth every penny, whatever you're doing. It's really bad for my hair. It's worth it for the audience. It actually singes the ends of my hair, but it's worth it for me. Team Plaza is really upset right now for what you've done. Fuck, team plaza.

I'm just kidding. I love my team. I love everyone I work with. Have you ever accepted an award where you have to thank your team? I hate awards. You know this job. You take yourself out of the running.

You're like, it's not what it's about. No. That's not what you got into this. No. Awards mean nothing to me. Have the MTV Movie Awards ever bestowed you with an honor? The MTV Movie Awards. Let me think.

Hmm. No, I don't think so. I brought up a bad topic. I forgot our sort of history I'm not going to start there. I'm going this year. Are you really? Yeah. Oh, good. So the bad one is over. We're in good graces again. What do you mean? I was there that year. Huh? What year? I was backstage when the shit went down. Yeah, I know, dude. That was the to-do list. That was a, it should have been a wonderful, happy occasion.

It was. It was great. It was a great night for everyone. Remember we had done that Q&A the week before? I don't know if you remember it. I don't remember much, like, beyond. on the last two weeks. What year was that? Well, let's come around to that. Let's start with Legion. Congratulations. Thank you. That's why you're here,

your hawking product. Season two of Legion, it's an easy show to summarize. Just catches up on everything that happened in season one. The guy goes into the astroplane and the thing comes out, it's scary.

Pretty much. First of all, I'll be getting out of the way. I think the show's great. I love the show. Really? No, seriously. I'm eye to eye with you.

I also couldn't explain the show. I also feel stupid sometimes watching the show. Am I stupid? No, you're not. No, I have to read the scripts like 10 times before I understand what's going on it. And still, I don't really always fully know what's going on. And I'm in the show. Are they just like, as you're reading the script, are you just running question marks throughout?

Are you like underwining them? No, I mean, I have a lot of questions, but I've learned over the course of season one that, But it's, you know, it's really, Noah trusts a lot of, he trusts the actors, I think, to kind of interpret things as they will. And I think that's kind of what's fun about it. It's like, I learned, I had so many questions. And I still do, but I've learned to kind of just make up the answers. And some, but sometimes I still will harass him and he won't respond always.

But I've started to do a thing with him where I just send him voice messages, which I really should do often. It's really fun to just force someone to, like, listen to your, like, ranting ravings. I know. They have to. I mean, I guess they can't ignore. You can delete it without listening, but that's not cool, man. Does it, does it feel like, this feels like looking at the, the Uvra of Albury Plaza, like something unlike anything you've ever done in terms of just stylistic the way the show is out there? Yeah. And I would think it presents some both exciting opportunities and challenges for an actor because you're you're acting this in this like very abstract environment but you also have to kind of like keep it grounded at times for you as an actor of course does it feel like

this is a little bit of a different challenge than anything you've ever experienced before 100% it's i've never done anything like that um and it's it's um it's extremely complicated the character of lenny busker because as you saw in the first season Lenny dies in the pilot, and then what? Right. And the answer to that is she gets taken over by an evil psychic mutant villain, villain who uses her to, you know, destroy people and manipulate David Haller. But somewhere underneath that, Lenny still exists somehow.

So tracking that has been a very big challenge for me. And now we're getting into sort of, like, like the, what's, you know, without spilling stuff as this season is just getting started, you're getting, you know, as opposed to going like Uber ginormous villain, now you're kind of getting back to basics in terms of who any. That's right. Not what I thought was going to happen, but there you go. Are you cool with that?

Am I cool with that? As the kids say, are you down with it? How would you feel if you were all powerful wearing a badass three-piece suit and then all of a sudden you're stripped of your suit and put in a bathing suit by a pool serving martinis to the man, you know? I guess it's how most women feel. But I trust Noah and I get very wrapped up into anything that I'm doing,

so I take it very personally. But it's part of the work, actually. And I think he kind of, in a weird way, whether he does it on purpose, I don't know, can't speak for him. But it's almost like life imitates art, imitates life in a way. And this season was a very sharp left turn for my character. And I struggled with it. But Lenny is struggling with it as well. And so, you know, it's kind of worked out.

Well, I don't know if it did, because I haven't seen it. Right. Well, it worked out for Aubrey. you're still intact? So far. Hanging on by a threat? Always, Josh. You know this.

That's what makes you. By a threat of my singed hair that I purposefully destroy every day. Would you consider yourself a self-destructive person? Sure, yeah. Really? I mean, I don't know, a little bit. Yeah. Yeah, I like to kind of give it to myself, you know, every once in a while.

Are you hard on? I'm just going to leave it right there. No, I don't leave it. I'm just going to leave it lying right there. What kind of TV did you watch as a kid? Back to the good old days when I was a child, there was nothing like this complex on TV. It was like...

Well, Twin Peaks, maybe. That's true. Did you watch the new Twin Peaks? I have not, but that's only... I'm going to. I just haven't found the time to really, like, give myself over to that. But I'm very excited for when that will happen. It's amazing.

And like something like Legion, It's not the kind of thing that you should or can or should be on six different mobile devices at the same time. Exactly. Totally. Right. And that's... I want that, to me, that will be like a vacation, I don't know, something where I can really just enjoy every second of that. I feel like David Lynch as a filmmaker you could vibe with. Oh, man, I would love it.

Right. I would love it. So what was the TV early on that you were into? Well, Seinfeld was probably huge. Younger, that was probably, what did I watch? Designing Women, which is kind of funny because now I'm working with Gene Smart. And when I was younger, I was like really into, you know, musty TV. Like all of those shows, multi-cams.

I was a big Nickelodeon, you know, person, Hey Dude. Remember that? I'm much older than you. No, you're not. How old are you? I'm 41. No, you're not. Um, sign, uh, designing women was a show that I used to watch when I was way too young to watch that show.

And I learned a lot about kind of like sex and being an adult from that show. And I used to watch it in the basement and then I would get in trouble because I wasn't allowed to watch that show. Um, but it's, it's funny now because I feel like I've, it makes sense to me how I, you know, conduct myself. I just feel like I'm just like Julia Sugarbaker. I was going to say, are you a Mishok Taylor, uh, uh, uh, official? Do you trade stories with Gene Smart about? I haven't talked to her about him. I think he's not on this planet anymore.

R-I-P. But I mean, he was the best. Isn't he a mannequin, too? Rather, mannequin, the original? Maybe he was in Manicant, too, as well. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think you're right. But, yeah, what else did I watch? I don't know, I don't remember.

When you were a kid, don't be evasive. It sounded like Zuckerberg on, like, the witness stand right now. I don't remember Senator. I remember what I watched. Did you ever go to? had the opportunity to like visit, L.A. Did you go to like a taping of anything, like a game show or like a sitcom or anything like that? Okay, I did. And what I saw, I'd only gone to L.A. as a kid one time, I think, because my aunt used to live in Huntington Beach. And I can't remember

if, I can't remember what it was called, but I remember going to a taping of a, I believe, it was a pilot that never got picked up and it starred Sherry O'Terry and I was obsessed with Saturday Night Live. I forgot to mention that. I watched that as a kid. Obsessed and I just remember being in a live

taping of the pilot that was starring Sherry O'Terry and I wanted so badly to be on TV and I don't think it got picked up but I don't remember. So even then you were introduced to the harsh realities of the business. That's right. Even Cherry O'Terry doesn't have it made. No one has it made. I mean everyone's miserable. It doesn't matter how

successful you are. Ask the people at the very top. Do you still get upset if you miss out on something that, like do you get your hopes up over roles that you're? Oh, oh yeah. Really? I'm extremely competitive and I get very passionate about things that I want. I want them now. Are you, are you calling Team Plaza constantly? Why haven't they called me back? What's going on? What do we need to do? Should I send another tape? What do I do? What do I do? Yeah, pretty much.

Yeah, pretty much. If I'm not working, which is very rare, and right now is like the first break I've had seriously in like five years, I'm like a total mess. So by that logic, you're a total mess because you have a break, you're on a break. Bingo. Oh, no. I'm catching you at a downtime. It's fine. I have a very positive attitude this week.

I'm very grateful to be on television talking about my new television show that's coming out. This is a podcast. You're not on TV right now just so you know. Thank you so much, Colbert. It's really nice to see you again. We both have glasses. I'm honored to be on your show. Right.

So, yeah, once you're past this week, how are you not going to go lapse into insanity? Because now I'm worried about you. No, there's no cure. I just need another job, you know. But I need it to be the right one. I think I'm at a point now where I'm just being very picky. And I'm just waiting for that. Yeah.

Right one. But I, you know. trying to generate some stuff myself and I don't know I'm just trying I'm really you know I'm fine okay okay no I'm just gonna relax yeah I don't want you to be at the look if anything comes out of this podcast I want you to be more relaxed not more tense okay um whatever I'm fine yeah just need to like chill out yeah let's chill out um okay so growing up Wilmington was Dawson's Creek in production when you were a kid um yeah I watched Dustin's Creek Dustin's Creek I must have been excited that was probably middle school

I can't remember. Right. Were you team Pacey or Dawson? I don't remember. Like the two sides. I never got in, I honestly never got into like those kinds of shows. Like I didn't really watch Friends, although I've, of course I've seen a lot of it, but I wasn't

ever the person that was like knew everything, watch everything. It was really Seinfeld was like my biggest obsession, probably more than any of the other shows. Did I read correctly were you or are you a big as Winona? a big one in your life? Was that somebody that...

Nona Ryder? Love for Nona Ryder. Right? Yeah, I loved everything that she did. Mermaids. Fucking love mermaids. I'm gonna love that. Yeah, she was the bad...

I mean, she's the ultimate. Well, again... Well, and then you're talking to the Tim Burton collaborations, Edward Sizzarhands, Beatle Juice, come on. Oh, of course. Beetlejuice is, like, one of my favorite movies ever. Edward Sizzarhands, of course.

Like, those movies were huge for me. Is Burton, another one like David Lynch, that is on that secret list somewhere. Yeah, where is he? Why isn't he calling me? I do feel like, again, this isn't like a week. I created my Legion character in season one. I specifically had, I had inspiration photos of Edward Cicesterhands.

I mean, if you see my hair, you'll see. It was that, it was Beetlejuice. I mean, it was very Tim Burton-esque, what I was doing aesthetically, I thought, not to like be whatever. Be pretentious actory. That's what we want that to hear. No, no, that was exactly what I was thinking. Do you, is it, do you initiate kind of like conversations with people you want to work with?

Is that appropriate? Does it feel like that ever bears actual fruit if you like say to your agent or something like, hey, you know, I'll do a lunch. I'll have a meeting, like those kind of amorphous kind of taking meeting things. I don't, the meetings that I have are, I don't, there's not, no. I mean, I would love to initiate it, but, you know, how am I supposed to, you know, I can't just call up Tarantino and go like, you want to get coffee, bro? Um, maybe not Tarantino, but there's a certain level of, I mean, he's in a rarefied air world. There is no level. I can't get it. I can't get to any of these people. Paul Thomas Anderson, I can't have coffee with him. He's the person that calls you to have coffee. Right. You have to do the work to make yourself noticeable, I guess, enough for the, for those filmmakers to want to hire you. I don't know how to get, I don't know how to get in front of them. Do you feel like, you know, you're alluding to kind of like trying to find material that that's stimulating to you at this point. And like, you know, I'm sure there are like any actor. there are the kinds of roles that you've played maybe one too many times for your sake,

where you're sort of like, yeah, I know how to do that. I can do that in my sleep. Is that sort of like, do you feel in control of your own career? Somewhat, but it's a, it's a back and forth, you know. It's not like, I think a lot of people maybe make the assumption that most actors just have like a plethora of options. And they're like, yes, yes, no, no. But it's not really like that.

it doesn't matter what level you're at you're always trying to self-generate projects and I'm always looking to do something different so of course I get offered the same you know sarcastic whatever drug addict mental um person that's whatever in a mental institution um I feel like I'm I've done that now and yeah he got it check it off the list got that one so you know now I'm looking for, you know, put me, put me in a, you know, a $500 suit behind a desk. Maybe I'm an attorney. Get, you know, get me out of the dirt. Get me up into my cubicle. I don't feel like you ever, like, have you ever played like a, like a real person? I feel like you've never done like the. Well, Josh, yes, I have. What do you mean? Like a human being?

Sorry, sorry. I should clarify. What is a real person? No, I'm sorry. Based on a true story. Like a, like a, like a bio pick. You've never played a person with a human. emotions. Well, I mean, I'm not, I mean, Lenny's not really real. So that is actually like a good, um, most recent case, I suppose. No, I haven't. But I really would. There's a couple people that I would really love to play.

Who do you have in mind? Helen Gurley Brown, Hillary Clinton. Those are pretty much, I'm not kidding. Those are two good ones. Hillary they've been developing some stuff lately. No, I don't know. There are some Hillary Clinton projects that they were trying to get off the ground. Yeah, they're out there, but I don't know, at the time.

It's always about the timing with these people. Are you a good auditioner? Have you gotten more or less anxious? Do you go in with a good attitude? Is it nerve-wracking? What at this point in your career were? At this point, it's strange. I haven't...

Is that Michael Shannon? Of course it is. Love Michael Shannon. I'm up there too. Oh, wow. I think I've gotten worse at auditioning. Why? Well, because it's a really different skill than working.

And so I've definitely... Definitely. I've had a couple auditions in the past, like, two years for, like, bigger movies, franchisee kind of, you know, those kinds of movies. Marvel. And I've just blown them because I'm just, it's like I'll literally be coming from this, from a set of working on a movie where I'm like really in it and working on it. And then I go and it's a totally different skill to, to sell yourself in that way. And I think once you're in the zone with that, I. If I'm in the zone with that, which I feel like at one point I used to be, I can do a really great job. But if I'm not, then it's like I'm, I forget how to sell myself or something. So is it that you're just the benefit of having, you're working, but the downside is that your head is in the work. So it's hard to kind of like switch brains. Yes, I'm not a great multitasker.

I am when it comes to business and work, but when it comes to acting, I'm, I get very kind of obsessed with what I'm. doing and then so it's hard for me to like step out of that and go like well now i'm going to just like really make these people laugh um i don't know but but i should be better at that i mean well i mean i've talked to plenty of actors that some of the best in the business that's hate and are horrible at auditioning it is a different kind of skill set it's the goal is to but it's like you never know you never know like when you're at a place where you can go like you know what i'm not going to audition anymore i mean john c riley he he's the coolest and he he once told me like A couple of years ago, he was like, don't audition, you know, offer only.

I'm like, you're John C. Riley. He doesn't even like, you can't. You can get away with that. I can't. He also doesn't even, like, do press, I feel like anymore. He hates doing interviews. He's the coolest. He's the coolest. He's the coolest. So he still wear cool hats? That's what I remember that he always wore, like, the... Yeah, I've seen him in a cool hat before. Are you closer to John C. Riley or Bill Murray? There's cool people in your life. Closer. I mean, I've worked with John twice now in two movies. And so I've, I'd say I'm closer to him, but, you know, Bill and I have an unspoken connection that, you know, no one can touch. When you say unspoken, does that mean he's not returning your calls?

No, he called me the other day. No. Yeah. What? Tell me what happened. Well, he was going to, he went to the march in New York, and he, and I was going to the march, and we were going to be marching buddies for the march for our lives. Right. But I ended up going down to D.C. so that didn't work out.

That's amazing. I felt, you know, like we were marching in spirit together. Do you text with Bill? I do sometimes, yeah. What's it, is there a typical Bill Murray text exchange? Does he use emojis? I'm not going to tell you about that. I don't need the intricacies.

I'm just curious of what his... Oh, I don't know. I'm always surprised that like Al Pacino apparently texts. Doesn't that blow your mind a little bit? I mean, not really. Everyone texts. My parents don't text. Daniel DeLuis doesn't, but...

No, he doesn't. Mr. Flipphone on the subway. You can still text in a flip phone. Michael Sarah has a flip phone, pretty sure. Old school. Yeah. You don't. But his texts are always misspelled and like, you know, because it's hard to...

In my copious research about you, I stumbled across a video, I think it was probably Brown, Scott Pilgrim, where you were supposedly berating Michael on a red carpet. And it's clear to me that it was a bit or you were, maybe not. But do you remember, do you know what I'm talking about? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Was that in Toronto? I think so. Yeah. Where you were giving him shit.

He was like interrupting an interview. Oh, right, right, right. So I guess my question is, I don't really have a question, except that like, you know, Your vibe, I think for some people, they don't key into the Aubrey vibe and they don't get what's a joke and what's not and when you're fucking around or you're not or if it's just me, you being you. Was that an example of people misreading you? Why? Because people thought that was for real. Yeah.

And does that bother you when something like that happens? Oh, I mean, no, it doesn't bother me at all. I think the funniest things are things that could confuse people. I mean, Andy Coffin But yeah, no, it doesn't bother me I don't really care I mean, you know, people People are going to project things on to me my whole life

I've learned that like there's nothing I can do about it I can't get wrapped up in what other people think about me So I just try to like keep my eye on the prize And not do anything too stupid Right, good philosophy Does your You came in here solo There's no publicist breathing down our necks in here

Nope Does your publicist ever like say lay off x y and z maybe that's not so good for the image at this point like are there no i mean i've worked with those they've they've been through a lot i put them through a lot of the past 10 years so you know they've seen it all and i think we're all at a place now where they're just like they're more like you know they're more just encouraging of me to just be you know positive keep it positive just because not because i'm ever like gonna go and do anything mean or what I think it's more just you know I get very nervous about you know

interviews and talk shows and stuff like that and sometimes my you know when your defense mechanisms or or when your defenses are up you end up kind of like reverting back or lashing out and I'm guilty of that you know but that's just self-preservation I can't help it I mean it's a weird thing to like be in those situations and it's not really has it doesn't really have anything to do with the work that I'm doing and I prefer to work. So it's, they're more just like, you know, have fun, smile. I mean, they're like show, they're like show parents or something. Right, right, right.

They're like, smile, baby. And I'm like, oh, I'm going to smile. Just wait until you see me smile. You came in beaming. You didn't have your defenses up. You felt, I felt openness. I know, I was in the car right over here. I was like, Aubrey, just be really happy.

This is a really fun week. I don't know. I just had a lot of green tea. I just had a latte and I don't drink coffee generally and I feel like I'm like a little jittery right now. I'm super ditterer. I have so much caffeine in my body right now. Yeah, I don't subsist on that generally.

Is there a lesson where, and we honestly don't have to talk about this if this puts you on edge, but we've never talked about that movie awards night. Is there a lesson learned from what went down where you were? A lesson learned for who? For you.

For me? Yeah. Do you deem that night as like a mistake? No. really well no I mean what is art Josh what is it really I mean what is performance act I think the I mean I would know I my what's what's interesting to me about that night is and I guess about me in general is that I think people so heavily associate me with April Ludgate right in a way in a way in a way in a way in a way way that they feel like my sense of humor is mean-spirited and comes from like a negative place because that humor was always kind of leaning towards that zone but I'm so not mean-spirited and I actually think the funniest things are like the silliest things and I'm more I'm I'm more

about like making other people funny and supporting other people and like I'm not interested in ever making anyone alienating anyone making anyone uncomfortable doing anything mean to anyone so I think I think the the lesson I learned I guess is that maybe you know there's a maybe I think the lesson really that I learned is that is just how how visible I am or something like I think I just forget sometimes that I'm that I'm on that I'm like an actor that's like on on television or something. That people will analyze and make a thing or something. And it's like, you know, I don't, I don't, I just don't think like that in my day

to day life. I don't think of myself like, I'm a famous actor. I need to like really like make every choice like with that knowledge in mind or something. I just don't operate like that. So to me it's like, you know, sometimes jokes land and sometimes they don't. And you can't control that. But I think, you know, I would never want to do anything that puts anyone else out.

Right. And so, like, that, the biggest bummer for me about that was that there was a very clear joke that I was making. Yeah. And it didn't, it didn't get supported, first of all. Right. And I'm just going to say that, because it really didn't. And there was a, there was a different way that that could have gone down. And it just didn't. And that's no one's fault.

Right. And I have no, you know, I put myself out there. And, you know, so what can you do? Well, I'm glad you're coming back to movie awards. It's coming here. Can't wait. There you go. So did, I mean, you talk about sort of not thinking of yourself as like a celebrity or famous.

That being said, like when, I would assume the shift, if there was a shift and you start to notice a different, in you being perceived or noticed, it's probably around perks and rec. Yes? Yeah. Is that the shift? And was that, did that sit? Was that an uneasy feeling when you kind of felt more eyeballs on you in your day-to-day life? Or did it feel like, was there an adjustment period? or do you ever get used to that?

I don't think I've ever, I mean, I've never been like a person that is, can't walk down the street. You know, it's not like that for me, really, but I think it's always, it's still surprising to me, honestly. Like, I still have moments all the time, like in airports or anywhere where someone will go, hey, and I'll look at them and just assume that I know them. Right. And go, hey. And then I'm like, oh, they're not, I don't know them. And then it's like I have to, that's always a weird moment. And I don't think it'll ever feel normal for me because I'm like, what the fuck?

These people don't know me, but they think they do. It's an imbalance of a relationship and it's, and it's a lot in a compressed period of time to deal with to figure out how to navigate that and make it not awkward for them and for you. when you escape with, like, dignity for both of you. It's just, it leads to awkwardness, which you, as we know, embrace at times, but still in your day-to-day, that's a, I don't know, it's, it can be a lot, I would think, if you're just trying to get a coffee at a Starbucks. Yeah, I mean, I just, I also don't frequent, um, places that are those places that people go where they get notice or, you know, I'm just like living my life.

was on parks the collaboration with that amazing group it was it was polar in particular like the the dream kind of like the mentor that you hoped and dreamed she would be totally like no one i mean she's number one like she's really the best she's the best case scenario for someone that would be like number one on the call she the person in charge and like you know obviously setting aside the amazing talent a sane and kind person yeah that's why because she's she's her priorities are good she's she's about the work she's professional she but her tone is just perfect it's always like respectful and never mean-spirited and always funny i mean she's always the funniest person in the room always right and she just i don't know she's still generous in

But it's still so generous and, yeah, and I think that it's a lot to do with also just, like, the upright citizens brigade mentality. And, like, that kind of training is really all about support, supporting other people, not, you know, not, like, hogging the stage and trying to be funny, but just, you know, focusing on, like, the truth and whatever. Is that, like, because when you were starting out here in New York, it was UCB. right? It was improv. And stand-up, you only dabbled into, I think, because of funny people, right? Like, that wasn't like an aspiration. No, I mean, I did, it was a little bit. I mean, I thought there were definitely times when I'm like, maybe should you stand-up, maybe

should be a stand-up. But I never really thought about it seriously until that movie. Going through that movie experience, which I think entailed all of you guys, a lot of the cast kind of like creating their own little mini-sets, et cetera. Did it feel like, okay, this is a nice experiment and it's done, or was it worth exploring any further. No, I mean, I explored it further. After we shot the movie, I kept doing stand-up because I had now completely out of nowhere become a bookable stand-up. I could get booked at the Laugh Factory and the improv. And before that, no one had heard of me. So I was in a very strange

position. Not a great position among other comedians because I felt like everyone else was looking at me like, you didn't pay your dues and like, who the fuck are you to come and like, you know, go up to improv or whatever. And I, totally agree with them. I'm like, I don't know, man, but I'm like, I'm doing it, and it's, I'm not totally bombing, I guess, so I don't know. So I was just kind of kept doing it. And then I auditioned for, just for laughs. And I got in. And then, so I did that. That was kind of, should have probably been the beginning of my stand-up career. But it kind of was the end, because I did that. And then I, I kind of kept doing it. And then, and then I realized, like, I don't know. I was

more passionate about it when it was about playing that character. And I kind of realized, like, maybe, you know, maybe for me, it's like the real, like, juicy stuff is like, just the acting. And, like, being funny and being a comic, but more through

characters or something. When you were, I was actually a little bit surprised that you've talked about yourself, like, back in school and high school, as almost like a Tracy Flick kind of character, and that you were type A involved in a lot of organizations, that kind of a thing.

Like, what were the organizations and stuff that you were into back then? So many extracurricular activities. I, well, I went to an all-girls Catholic school, and I was president, you know, I was very involved with student council. I was president of my class every year. And then senior year, I was president of student council of the school. And I ran a very convincing campaign that year. What was the motto work?

What was the motto? I don't remember. All I remember is I enlisted the help of the young college Republican. Yes, I'll admit that. Not a Republican anymore, but... Tabled. Well, I was working on the Bill Roth's campaign, who was a Republican, and I was very, very into that. Were your parents conservative?

Did you come from a conservative family? My... I would say I came from... No, not some, a little bit. Yeah, a little bit. Okay. Like, I would say the school I was at was conservative, for sure. So it wasn't weird at all to be, like, volunteering for the Republican, like, Senate campaign or whatever.

Until later in life when I realized how fucked up that was. But, no, but I actually really liked Bill Roth. He was a moderate Republican. Got it. What were we talking about? Oh, just all the extra. Oh, I was in 4-H my whole life, so I was doing a lot of community service. I was, you know, involved in a lot of the clubs, very involved in community theater.

I performed at the Wilmington Drama League in several plays, musicals. I know your work at the Wilmington Drama League, everybody knows. The Ugly Duckling, I've ever heard of it? WDL, yes. Huh? Totally. I'm pretty good at creating acronyms really quickly. You were, and our buddies with, I didn't realize this,

that Neil Casey was, like, always very close. Neil Casey and I met at a church youth group retreat when I was 12 years old. So for those that don't know, I mean, I guess most people probably recognize him most from, he was the villain in Ghostbusters, but he's also a super talented writer and comic actor. He actually wrote one of the sketches I did once for me and Walberg, and I just, yeah, he's a genius. He really is. Yeah. He's really, like, one of the biggest reasons why I got into comedy, because he was three years older than me,

but he went to my brother's school, Slaid Zianum, which is where all the boys went. Got it. And we met at a youth group retreat, and then we did the ugly duckling together. I played a hen, he played a chicken. As most beautiful friendships begin. Yeah.

But once we met, I kind of realized, like, oh, wow, there's, like, someone that is really strange, and, like, we are totally on the same page. He introduced me to John Waters' movies, and improv comedy and I mean the rest is history but we we all we did was make movies little movies together and write together and it does make sense I mean just knowing the little

that I do or a scene of his work and of course knowing yours it's like it does feel like you both embrace the strange the awkward like that's where you live like that's what you get off on yeah we would dress up like a chicken and a duck and a hen and a chicken and a chicken And we took our costumes from that production, and we would just wear them. We would wear the costumes and we would go outside of, like, fancy restaurants with, like, a big beach ball and just have a catch, like, on the lawn. Like, stuff like that that was just stupid. We would stand on the highway and just, yeah, just normal kind of. That's what you do in Delaware.

You just kind of have to make it up. Right. Activities. Was New York the dream, early on to go to NYU and go after SNL? Yeah, that was a dream. I think I wanted to go to film school. So I had a moment where I thought, maybe I'll go to USC and go to California,

but I did a film program at Universal one summer through New York Film Academy. And I kind of realized, like, I don't know, New York is kind of my thing. And also I wanted to do Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. I knew I wanted to train there. So that was kind of the real reason I went to New York. So you were talking before about self-generating. Is there an aspiration to write and direct?

Are you writing in your spare time? Or is that something, because I don't think you've produced anything that you've produced, but you haven't written anything that's... Right. No, I will. I'm going to direct something that I write that I'm writing. So I'm just going to finish it. Nice. Yeah. Speaking of, I do want to mention, I think the last time I saw you was we were doing some shenanigans around Ingrid Goes West, which I... Was that in this building? Yes. That's right. That's why I've been here. Dejaibu. Me and Lizzie. That was fun. Did you have an okay time? Was that okay? Yeah, it was great. Anything with Lizzie is good for me.

She's the best. Yeah, thanks, afterthought. But I love Ingrid Goes West. Thanks. And got a big award at IFC, right? That was nice. Independent Spirit Awards. And you produced that one.

I did. Is that... So, you know, in recent years, you've started to... You know, you were obviously the lead in the to-do list, co-lead in Ingrid Goes West. You were talking about sort of like learning from polar in terms of like being number one on the call sheet. Is that something that feels comfortable,

feels like something that is an extra weight that you embrace where those opportunities where you've gotten to kind of be the gal people look to? Totally. Yeah. I mean I think like I've been practicing for that my whole life. Leadership. There you go four H. I'm serious. I mean really like I'm comfortable with it. I was always the person in high school that had was friends with everyone. You know like I I was that person like I was able to kind of find I think I mean I'm not. I'm not I don't know. It's weird to like talk about myself in that way, but I felt like I was connected to everyone in a way. I don't know why. So it feels right to me. I mean, I don't know. I'll have to talk to your subordinates to see if they. Yeah, I mean, maybe I'm insane. I don't think. But I don't know. I think I have maybe, yeah. Well, again, generosity of spirit that comes from UCB that comes from improv. And that's important to, you know, you want to be a leader, but you also want to be somebody that's looking out for the greater good and making it a pleasant experience for people around you.

Yeah, totally. And I love collaborating. Like, I love working with other people. I'm not the kind of person that thinks I know everything or, you know, I'm very, I'm the first person to be like, I don't know what the answer is. But I'm willing to work it out. I mean, you always talk about someone that's a super game. to kind of like go for broke right so like if you if you present a challenge to you you're generally speaking like yeah let's do it and I'll take it to the next level fair enough fair to say

yeah is there anything that is a turn off at this point that you see in a script or see in a project proposed to you that's an immediate kind of like like I won't do that yeah no it's a good place to be I mean like what I'm a dangerous example I don't know I can't even think of one I mean after you know seeing what you did with poor Bob De Niro like I mean you prefer broke that man in half. Just wait till we do it again. You have no idea what's about to happen. What's going to happen? I can't talk about it right now. DG. 2? Can't talk about it right now. Finally. DG2? Again, I just like a good acronym. More like dirty groom-law. Do what I'm saying? Not really. Okay. Didn't hear it here.

Wait, it was it going to be like a Tyler Perry thing where you like dress up in like a big, God, that is my dream. Honestly, that is my dream. Like a big prosthetic. Tyler Perry took my career. I think it would be fun for you to do like a big, like, prosthetic. That is literally what I'm writing right now Is my own Mrs. Doubtfire And believe me, I've been around town pitching this thing And everyone's looking at me strange And just wait until I pull this one out of my opinion

Wait, give me a little more, what is it? No, I can't. We can help, I can't help you. No, I know people. I can't, let's just say, yeah, I will be unrecognizable, you will laugh and you will cry. That's an accomplished. There will be heart, you know.

Let's bring back Tutsi. Oh, it's an all-time classic. What movie have you seen more than any other, you think? What do you continue to return to? What can you quote by heart? What's the comfort movie? The comfort movie? Turn on and it just puts Aubrey at ease,

makes the world a better place. I don't know. The matchmaker? Oh. I don't know. Unexpected. The first thing that comes to mind. That's fine, that's fine, that's fine.

Legion, Season 2, we're wrapping this up in a big bow. Look, that flew by. Look at that. I feel like you'd fly by for you. What do I mean? What just happened? What did I say? What did you say in the last 40 minutes?

You want me to summarize? Yeah. Wait, let's just listen to it really quick. And then we'll finish it so I can take back whatever I said. That's a really good plan. Tease us for the rest of Legion. I already saw a dance number in the first episode. More dancing to come.

It feels like that's a Legion staple now. You need dancing if you're going to do Legion. I guess. I didn't sign up for that, by the way. What's going to happen? I don't know. Okay, fair enough. Aubrey Plaza.

Yeah. That's you. It's me. Are you clapping for yourself? Good job, Aubrey. See how positive I'm being? And I'm going to go right from here to Colbert. Do you have something planned?

No. Good luck with that. Thanks. Good to see you. You too. And so ends another edition of happy, sad, confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person.

I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pressured to do this by Josh. I'm Amy Nicholson, the film critic for the LA Times. And I'm Paul Shear, an actor, writer, and director. You might know me from The League, Veep, or my non-eligible. for Academy Award role in Twisters. We love movies, and we come at them from different perspectives. Yeah, like Amy thinks that, you know, Joe Pesci was miscast in Goodfellas, and I don't. He's too old.

Let's not forget that Paul thinks that Dude, too, is overrated. It is. Anyway, despite this, we come together to host Unspooled, a podcast where we talk about good movies, critical hits. Fan favorites, must-season, and Casey Mistoms. We're talking Parasite the Home Alone. From Greece to the Dark Night. We've done deep dives on popcorn flicks.

We've talked about why Independence Day deserves a second look. And we've talked about horror movies, some that you've never even heard of like Ganges and Hess. So if you love movies like we do, come along on our cinematic adventure. Listen to Unspooled wherever you get your podcast. And don't forget to hit the follow button.