Aubrey Plaza might be most well-known for her deadpan “Parks and Recreation” character, April Ludgate, but she’s a lot more than a one-note actor. Over the years, Plaza has risen from playing the love interest in buddy comedies to starring in her own dramas and horror flicks, showing off her formidable acting chops along the way.
Plaza began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at New York City’s Upright Citizens Brigade. She also appeared in early 2010s classics like “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” before fully breaking through in “Parks and Recreation.” In more recent years, Plaza has been showing off her more dramatic chops, appearing in everything from the “Chucky” remake, “Child’s Play,” to the crime thriller “Emily the Criminal.” She also made waves as Harper, a woman challenged by her husband’s newfound wealth and the stuck-up friends vacationing alongside them, on “The White Lotus” season two. In the fall of 2023, she made her onstage acting debut alongside Christopher Abbott in the off-Broadway play “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea,” where she plays a woman who connects unexpectedly with a man (Abbott) at a Bronx bar.
No matter what role she’s playing, Plaza tends to steal every scene she’s in. Ahead, check out Plaza’s best movie and TV roles over the years.
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"Funny People" (2009)
Plaza plays Seth Rogen‘s love interest in this comedy, which tells the story of a comedian (Adam Sandler) who takes an up-and-coming performer (Rogen) under his wing.
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"Parks and Recreation" (2009–2015)
Plaza’s breakout role was as the deadpan intern April Ludgate in “Parks and Recreation,” who was always a startling contrast to Amy Poehler‘s cheery Liz Lemon.
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"Safety Not Guaranteed" (2012)
Plaza plays another intern in her first major movie role. Here, she plays a disillusioned intern at Seattle Magazine who begins investigating a time-travel-related case along with some of her fellow employees.
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"Life After Beth" (2014)
Plaza plays a woman who comes back from the dead in this zombie comedy, which was written and directed by her now-husband, Jeff Baena.
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"The To Do List" (2013)
Plaza takes the lead in this film, which follows a recent high school graduate trying to have more sexual experiences before beginning college.
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"Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates" (2016)
Based on a true story, “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” is about two men who put out an ad asking for dates to an upcoming wedding. Aubrey Plaza plays one of the women who answers the ad, though she isn’t exactly who she claims to be.
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"Ingrid Goes West" (2017)
Plaza plays a woman struggling with mental illness in this dark comedy. Things go off the rails when she moves to Los Angeles and begins stalking an influencer.
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"Legion" (2017–2019)
Plaza stars as a woman who is possessed by a powerful mutant spirit in this FX superhero series. Based on the X-men franchise, it features Plaza as the main antagonist.
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"Child's Play" (2019)
Plaza plays a widower who gifts her son a doll equipped with artificial intelligence in this remake of the classic horror film “Chucky.” Things go south when the doll reveals its homicidal side.
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"Black Bear" (2020)
Plaza appears in another horror film in “Black Bear,” playing a filmmaker who travels to the Adirondacks to work on a script. Mind-bending events ensue as the lines between cinema and reality blur.
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"Happiest Season" (2020)
“Happiest Season” stars Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis as a lesbian couple named Abby and Harper who head home for the holidays, only for Abby’s character to realize that Harper isn’t out to her parents. Plaza plays one of Harper’s ex-girlfriends, who strikes up a relationship with Abby as she tries to make it through the trip. Plaza’s character charmed fans so much that many viewers wound up hoping she’d end up with Abby in the end.
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"Best Sellers" (2021)
Plaza plays a young publisher trying to keep her father’s publishing house afloat in this comedy-drama. Her character winds up taking on a project from a famous author who hasn’t published in a long time, but he turns out to be extremely difficult to work with.
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"Emily the Criminal" (2022)
Plaza takes the leading role in this thriller, which follows a woman struggling with student debt. When she begins working with a criminal enterprise in order to make some extra cash, things quickly spiral out of control.
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"Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre" (2023)
This comedy stars Plaza as a tech-savvy spy trying to investigate a high-profile caper. Things go haywire when her team recruits a major Hollywood star to help with their mission.
