How Aubrey Plaza Embarrassed Herself In Front Of Ryan Gosling
Aubrey Plaza is known for her deadpan delivery of lines, but in real life, it's the "Parks and Recreation" star's uncanny ability to create excruciatingly awkward moments, not her sarcasm, that has blessed her fans with some hilarious anecdotes about her life.
There was the time she thought it would be hilarious to prank NBA player Chris Bosh on the set of "Parks & Rec" by waiting in his trailer and introducing herself to him as a member of the show's hair and makeup team. She assumed Bosh would know who she was, but this wasn't the case. "So I kept the bit going, and I kept doing more outrageous things so that he would get a clue that it was me joking around," she recalled to Vulture. He eventually sent Bosh on his way without revealing her true identity.
Being capable of making people cringe in her presence actually helped Plaza land the role of April Ludgate on "Parks & Rec," according to showrunner Michael Schur. "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," he told AV Club. Then there was that time Plaza met Donald Trump while rocking an elf costume before she was famous. "If I knew then what I know now, I would have just tackled him to the ground," she said on "The Late Show." She also has a major regret about meeting Ryan Gosling.
Aubrey Plaza had no idea who Ryan Gosling was
What made Aubrey Plaza's interaction with Chris Bosh awkward was his failure to recognize her, so when she met Ryan Gosling, the roles were reversed. "I was at this juice bar, and he came in," Plaza recounted in a 2011 Rolling Stone interview. "I didn't recognize him. He said, 'I'm a big fan of the show,' and I said, 'Thank you. Are you an actor?' He kind of smirked and said, 'Yeah.'" Even after "The Notebook" star told Plaza his first name, she remained mystified as to why she thought that she recognized him from somewhere. And in an act of karma for the Bosh incident, Gosling left without letting her know who he was.
Plaza told Vanity Fair that it wasn't until a friend observed that Gosling bore a striking resemblance to Gosling that she realized just how mortifying that particular interaction was. Later on, she tried to smooth things over with Gosling by having a producer pal hand him a note scrawled on a napkin, but she didn't receive a response. "I missed my shot," she told Rolling Stone.
But perhaps Gosling planned on responding to the note in person. "I actually did hear from him one time. He invited me to a magic show through someone else," Plaza told Vulture. But in a true act of loyalty, she decided to attend a charity event with her "Parks and Recreation" co-star Amy Poehler instead.
Aubrey Plaza also had an awkward first meeting with Ice Cube's son
In 2013, Aubrey Plaza told Entertainment Weekly that she hoped to work with Ryan Gosling someday, but if he saw what she told Vulture. One year earlier, it possibly lessened the likelihood of this ever happening. "I think [Gosling] has a girlfriend, but maybe I'll murder her someday and we'll be together forever," she deadpanned.
Plaza eventually did get to work with one actor whom she set her sights on: Ice Cube's son, O'Shea Jackson Jr. In an interview with Slant, Plaza recalled seeing Jackson Jr. at an event and thinking that he would be perfect for the role of her love interest in the 2017 movie "Ingrid Goes West." The two began DM'ing each other, and Plaza thought that Jackson Jr. had received the script she sent to him when he sent her a message reading, "Yo, what's up? It's Batman." But when she arranged to meet Jackson Jr. in person to ask him if he was interested in starring in the movie, she learned that he had not seen the script. "My follow-up question was, 'Well then, why did you say you were Batman if you really don't have any idea that this character is obsessed with Batman?' And he was like, 'Because I'm obsessed with Batman,'" Plaza recounted.
Plaza told Entertainment Weekly that she wants to play Catwoman, so obviously she and Jackson Jr. need to star in the most awkward superhero movie ever.