It turns out April Ludgate bears more than just a passing resemblance to the actor who played her for seven seasons - the character was pretty much based on her.
Aubrey Plaza starred as the fan-favourite black sheep of the 'Parks and Recreation' family for the entire run of the show, which was originally created by 'The US Office' team of Greg Daniels and Michael Schur.
Appearing as the guest on Conan O'Brien's 'Needs a Friend' podcast this week, the star recounted the time she first met with the creative team, which was a moment in her life when she was only starting out in TV and film.
The comedy series, which would go on to become one of the all-time best sitcoms ever made, was still in early development when Plaza met with Daniels and Schur. Dressed very casually in a pair of jean shorts, the future comedy star says that she "didn't realise the weight of that meeting" with the two creators - and luckily for her, they loved her kookiness.
It turns out that Aubrey Plaza, having heard the original pitch of the character she could potentially be playing, pitched her own idea for April Ludgate - and the character stuck. And thus April Ludgate, the resting bitch face yet also the quietly caring spawn of Satan, was born.
That same week she "auditioned" for her part as April Ludgate, Plaza also secured two movie roles in 'Funny People' and 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'. Since the series ended, she's carved out a successful indie film avenue for herself, starring in 'Ingrid Goes West', 'Life After Beth', 'Black Bear' and a 'Chucky' remake, 'Child's Play'. She's also starred in FX's 'Legion' TV series and later this year she'll be part of 'The White Lotus' season two.
Here's the full clip of Aubrey Plaza being her blazé self as she tells Conan how she secured her 'Parks and Recreation' role. You can listen to the full podcast episode on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcast fix too.
