Aubrey Plaza is known for her deadpan demeanor when she played April Ludgate in Parks and Recreation. So, wouldn’t that make her a dead ringer for a Scream movie? The 38-year-old actress talks about the time when she could have been a villain behind Ghostface and it did not go well.
Playing one of the scariest modern horror movie villains in a Scream movie is always a great acting challenge. You need to come off as innocent to the audience only for the great reveal towards the end to be all the more shocking for them. Believe it or not, Aubrey Plaza revealed to British Vogue’s Olivia Marks on Twitter that she actually auditioned for Scream 4. Watch her hilariously tell the story below,
Not Aubrey Plaza telling me she auditioned for one of the Scream movies and dressed up as an actual murderer pic.twitter.com/GykW6cjShxOctober 17, 2022
The story goes that she was told she would audition to play a character that would eventually reveal herself to be the killer. So, Plaza decided to go all method by dressing up as frumpy as an undercover killer would look like to pull off the unsuspecting murderess persona. However, everyone around her looked glamorous. So I guess casting directors preferred to pass the torch to Emma Roberts for that role instead of the Parks and Recreation actress. Maybe it was better off since this comedic actress plays dark very well that it would have given it away pretty quickly. Just like how the identity of Ghostface revealed in Scream 5 was obviously Mikey Madison’s character as this actress terrified audiences plenty playing one of Charles Manson’s “Family” hippies in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. As Plaza explained the situation:
I just remember one of the earlier auditions I had was for Wes Craven for the Scream remake or something. They had told me ‘You’re going in to audition, you’re going to play a character who eventually you find out is the killer.’ So I took that really literally. And I was thinking ‘Alright, I’m going to dress like the killer.’ And I went in and I looked terrible, really frumpy. Because I thought I’m a murderer. And everyone else was glamorous and they all looked great, and I just looked insane. And they’re like ‘The whole point is we’re not supposed to know that you’re the killer. You pretty much just look like a murderer right away.’ Anyway, I blew that one.
This wouldn’t be the first time that Aubrey Plaza brought out her method actor self in an audition. During her Dirty Grandpa audition for the role of the raunchy Lenore, she showed up in front of the casting directors flashing her butt and talking dirty to them only to make a clean exit. Clearly the casting directors were really impressed with her living out the role. Her co-star Robert De Niro didn’t even recognize her off camera as she played the wild character so well during their sex scenes together. Method acting during an audition proves that you’re offering casting directors a glimpse into what they’re getting into which may or may not work out in your favor.
Well, there’s no need to feel too sad for Aubrey Plaza. The biggest movie she’s got going on for her right now was when she starred and co-produced Emily the Criminal which had its Sundance premiere in August. She’ll also be joining the cast of season two’s The White Lotus. Not to mention, she’s got two upcoming movies like Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre and Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. So, she’s got plenty to keep her busy before a future villain role turns up for her.
The Child’s Play actress may not have had the best audition experience for Scream 4, but failed auditions can end up being very entertaining stories later. Fortunately, Aubrey Plaza has plenty of doors to open in her career.