If you watch Funny People today, you might blink and miss her at first. Before she was the reigning queen of awkward indie cinema and the breakout star of The White Lotus, Aubrey Plaza was just another name in a sea of rising comedians in Judd Apatow’s 2009 dramedy. But honestly, the story of how she landed the role of Daisy Danby is way more chaotic than anything you see on screen. It’s the kind of "fake it till you make it" success story that feels like it belongs in a movie itself.
She wasn’t a star yet. She was barely even a professional actress.
The Audition That Changed Everything
Back in 2008, Aubrey Plaza was working at a Starbucks and interning at Saturday Night Live. She was deep in the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) world, doing improv and sketch, but she had never touched a stand-up mic in her life. Then came the call for Aubrey Plaza Funny People. Casting legend Allison Jones—the woman who basically hand-picked the entire cast of The Office and Superbad—wanted her to read for the part of Daisy.
There was just one massive problem. The character was a stand-up comedian. Judd Apatow wanted someone who actually did the circuit.
Instead of admitting she’d never done it, Plaza did what any desperate, talented 24-year-old would do: she lied. Or, well, she improvised. She told them she had a set coming up. Then she scrambled. She called her friend Donald Glover (yep, Childish Gambino himself) and asked if she could hop on his show. She went up, did a bizarre, deadpan set that she’s since described as "not really stand-up," and filmed it.
✨ Don't miss: Enrique Iglesias Height: Why Most People Get His Size Totally Wrong
She sent that tape to Apatow. He loved it.
The crazy part? That single week in her life didn't just land her the role in Funny People. Because of that audition, Allison Jones sent her to meet Edgar Wright for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Mike Schur for Parks and Recreation. She booked all three in seven days. Imagine being a broke intern on Monday and having a career-defining film and a hit TV show by Friday.
Who Is Daisy Danby?
In the movie, Daisy is the neighbor and occasional love interest to Seth Rogen’s character, Ira Wright. She’s part of that gritty, competitive L.A. comedy scene where everyone is living in cramped apartments and praying for a break.
Daisy isn't exactly a ray of sunshine. She’s sardonic, guarded, and carries that specific "don't look at me but also look at me" energy that Plaza eventually perfected as April Ludgate. Judd Apatow actually leaned into Plaza’s real-life background for the character, even making Daisy from Delaware, just like Aubrey.
🔗 Read more: Elisabeth Harnois: What Most People Get Wrong About Her Relationship Status
- The Romantic Tangle: She ends up in a messy triangle between Ira (Rogen) and Mark (Jason Schwartzman), who plays the insufferable star of a fictional sitcom called Yo Teach!.
- The Persona: Her comedy in the film is loosely inspired by Janeane Garofalo. It’s dry. It’s biting. It makes the guys in the room a little uncomfortable.
- The Vibe: She’s one of the few women in a very male-dominated cast, and she holds her own by being "weird and on the same page as the guys," as she once put it.
A lot of people forget that Funny People was meant to be this massive, soul-searching epic for Adam Sandler. It’s a long movie—almost two and a half hours. Amidst all the heavy themes of terminal illness and the ego of famous men, Plaza’s scenes provide this grounded, slightly cynical perspective on what it’s like to be at the bottom of the food chain looking up.
Why Funny People Still Matters for Aubrey's Legacy
Looking back, you can see the DNA of everything she did later. The "deadpan" label started here. If she hadn't forced herself to learn stand-up for this role, we might never have gotten the specific version of April Ludgate that defined a generation of bored office workers.
There’s a scene where she and Seth Rogen are sitting on a bed, just talking, and it feels incredibly raw. It’s not "movie" acting. It’s awkward and halting. That’s the "vibe" that eventually led directors like Lawrence Michael Levine (Black Bear) or John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal) to realize she could handle much more than just jokes. She has this ability to look like she’s about to kill you or burst into tears, and usually, it’s both at the same time.
Misconceptions About the Role
People often think she was discovered while waitressing. Not true. She was actually fired from her waitressing job right before she got the part. Another common myth is that she was already a seasoned comic. Honestly, the "stand-up" she did for the movie was some of the first she’d ever done. She had to learn the rhythm of a room while the cameras were rolling, which is basically a nightmare for anyone with stage fright.
💡 You might also like: Don Toliver and Kali Uchis: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
She’s also mentioned in interviews that her character was a "mashup" of herself and her sisters. She wasn't playing a role so much as she was projecting a version of her own reality at the time—a young person in a new city trying to prove she was smart enough to be there.
Actionable Takeaways for Movie Nerds
If you’re revisiting the film or just discovering Plaza’s early work, keep an eye on these things:
- Watch the Stand-up Scenes: Pay attention to her timing. You can tell she’s leaning into the awkwardness because she was actually new to the medium. It adds a layer of realism to Daisy that a veteran comic might have polished away.
- Look for the "Parks and Rec" Connection: Notice the chemistry (or lack thereof) with the other comics. You can see the seeds of the April Ludgate/Andy Dwyer dynamic in the way she interacts with Seth Rogen’s "nice guy" character.
- Check Out the Bonus Features: If you can find the behind-the-scenes footage, there are clips of her actual audition tapes. It’s a masterclass in how to be "weird" in a way that makes people want to hire you.
Aubrey Plaza didn't just show up in Funny People; she used it as a Trojan horse to get into the industry. She took a supporting "love interest" role and turned it into a showcase for a brand of humor that didn't really exist in mainstream movies at the time. It wasn't just a job—it was the moment the industry realized that being the "weirdest girl in the room" was actually a superpower.
Next time you’re scrolling through her filmography, don’t skip the 2009 era. It’s where the chaos started.
Next Steps for You:
If you want to see more of this specific era, watch Scott Pilgrim vs. The World right after Funny People. You’ll see her play Julie Powers, a character filmed almost simultaneously, which shows just how much range she was already packing before she ever stepped foot in Pawnee.