Aubrey Plaza has shared some unconventional techniques she employed during the shooting of a film featuring Robert De Niro.
The 2016 release stars De Niro alongside Zac Efron.
In the movie, the duo portrays a lawyer and his grandfather who journey to Florida during Spring Break, where they encounter Shadia and Lenore, played by Zoey Deutch and Aubrey Plaza.
Plaza’s character is a young woman determined to sleep with a college professor, prompting De Niro’s character to claim that he is one.
Plaza immersed herself deeply into her character, even worrying that her method acting might have been excessive.
The film in question is Dirty Grandpa.
At the London Film Festival’s ScreenTalk, Plaza recounted that one of her agents informed her that “Bob’s a little freaked out” by her behavior on set.
Plaza explained: “I didn’t have time to get to know him, he shows up in a puff of smoke and there’s no chatting at the water cooler.”
The Parks and Recreation star noted that she didn’t have a chance to properly meet De Niro before filming started, so she was already in character when he arrived.
She continued: “By the time he’d show up, I’m in character. My character had one goal: to have sex with him. I was acting totally insane as the character because we were about to shoot.
“I don’t think he understood that wasn’t me. You’d think he would because he’s an actor and an amazing one.”
However, Plaza admitted that she would probably tone down her intensity if she had to do it again.
She reflected: “At first I think I came on really strong. I did some questionable things I wouldn’t do anymore.”
In an earlier appearance on late night with Seth Meyers, Plaza revealed that she had given De Niro a “gift” while in character.
She recounted: “I didn’t know him, we’d never talked, and I was really scared of working with him… but I was like, ‘I’m gonna do something really crazy’, and I took a real slutty picture of myself in my trailer, in character, and then I printed it out and I put it in a book of zen Buddhism.
“And then I slipped it under his trailer door with a little note that said, ‘Happy shooting’, or something, and then I waited.”
A week went by, leaving Plaza “terrified” she had made a wrong move.
“[De Niro] just casually came over to me and he was like, ‘I got your book…’ I put the picture on page four and he was like, ‘I only got to page four, but it was very good,’ and then he walked away.”