NBC
Nobody in Hollywood is having a better start to 2023 than Aubrey Plaza.
To close out 2022, the 38-year-old former Parks and Rec standout starred in two projects that have likely changed the trajectory of her career: HBO’s The White Lotus and the Netflix film Emily the Criminal. Plus, she was cast in the upcoming Marvel series Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
It’s certainly not difficult to find evidence of Plaza’s rising stardom, as she’s set to host the first Saturday Night Live of the year this weekend, which will mark her first time hosting the iconic sketch comedy show.
Given that Plaza has been in the business for over a decade now — and has largely spent that time doing comedic roles — it should come as no surprise that she actually tried out for Saturday Night Live along the way. It should also, however, come as no surprise that her tryout was hilariously disastrous.
“I didn’t make it to the Lorne [Michaels] audition, the famous final audition, but I did a preliminary first-round showcase,” Plaza recently said on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
“I remember one character I did was like a Puerto Rican news reporter that was always trying to make all of the news stories sexy, even if they were horrific news stories. I was just trying to like, sex up the news or something.”
“And then the other one was, I a pill-popping housewife that had a show called ‘Celebri-Tails,’ where I would just name celebrities and name what kind of tail they would have if they had a tail. Like I would say, ‘Lindsay Lohan would have a bushy squirrel’s tail.’ Or, like, ‘Bill Clinton would have a polar bear’s nub.’”
Following her breakout turns in The White Lotus and Emily the Criminal, Plaza will next be seen starring in Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, which is scheduled to hit theaters in the United States in March. She’s also been cast in Francis Ford Coppola’s $120 million passion project Megalopolis, which is currently in the midst of (a reportedly tumultuous) production.
Plaza’s Saturday Night Live episode, with musical guest Sam Smith, will air on Saturday, January 21.
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