Aubrey PlazaACTOR

Aubrey Plaza is an award-winning actress whose professional repertoire speaks for itself. She attended a film camp at NYFA Los Angeles in 2000 before making her acting debut six years later. In 2006, Plaza appeared in two short films – titled Killswitch and In Love. She also appeared in an episode of NBC’s popular sitcom 30 Rock that year. Plaza then became a frequent guest on the online series The Jeannie Tate Show, appearing as herself six times in 2007 and 2008.

In 2009, Plaza landed the role of deadpan intern April Ludgate on another NBC sitcom, Parks and Recreation. She won a Peabody Award for her Parks and Recreation role in 2012. Co-stars Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman received the award as well, as did showrunner Michael Schur. She also appeared in Derrick Comedy’s Mystery Team, which debuted at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, Plaza played Seth Rogen’s love interest Daisy in Funny People (2009) and Julie Powers in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010).

Following her roles in Mystery Team, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Plaza appeared in three episodes of Portlandia. In 2012, she played Marnie in the film A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, starring Charlie Sheen. That same year, Plaza played her first starring role as Darius in the comedy Safety Not Guaranteed.

In 2013, Plaza made a foray into voicework and animation, voicing the Greek Council President in Disney-Pixar’s Monsters University. She also appeared in the debut episode of Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz on Funny or Die. Plaza played the titular role in Ingrid Goes West (2017), winning the 2018 Spirit Award for Best First Feature.

In 2019, Plaza starred in the reboot of Child’s Play. She then starred in the Hulu original film The Happiest Season (2020), alongside Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, and Allison Brie. Her on-screen character quickly became a favorite with the film’s audience. In 2020, she participated in a NYFA panel to discuss her film Black Bear.

More recently, Plaza played the titular role in Emily the Criminal (2022), winning the Best Actress award at that year’s Annapolis Film Festival in Maryland. She then appeared as Harper Spiller in seven episodes of The White Lotus. For their performances in the show, Plaza and her co-stars received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

Plaza is slated to reprise her character of Julie Powers in an upcoming Scott Pilgrim anime series. She is also set to voice Brain in the animated film The Ark and the Aardvark, which is scheduled for theatrical release in 2024, as well as a role in the upcoming Marvel series Agatha: Darkhold Diaries.

Snapshot:
Program Studied at NYFA: Filmmaking
Program Type: Kids & Teen Camp
Year Attended/Graduated: 2000
Location: Los Angeles

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