Aubrey Plaza finds it difficult to describe her character in the superhero TV drama Legion. Is she dead or alive? Is she evil or good? Is she a mutant or a human? David Haller’s mutant character, the lead of the show, is a figment of his imagination or is he real? “That’s a really good question,” says Plaza, who began as a human woman named Lenny Busker, then became trapped in a dimension of Haller’s mind and is now stranded on the “astral plane” by the evil Shadow King. “It’s a total mindfuck.” This rag doll that has been thrown around feels nothing like a human at the end of the day; it is physically and mentally exhausting to not exist as a human.
He should have been aware that the director of the sitcom she had auditioned for had written a part specifically for her, which she found uncomfortable due to the strange characters she portrays. She spends her days in the local government department of Recreation and Parks, playing the role of April Ludgate, a contrarian and sarcastic member. Although she is best known for her role in Parks and Recreation, she has been specializing in playing eccentric characters for a long time, and the strangeness of Legion’s work might feel suffocating to her at the age of 33.
Over the past decade, Aubrey Plaza has brought her singular sensibility to a wide range of comedies, earning enough high-profile gigs to convince people that her oddball shtick is both alarming and funny. Her deadpan and eerily eye-watering jokes, as well as her characterised appearances on Judd Apatow’s People Funny from Robert De Niro’s Dirty Grandpa to Judd Apatow’s Funny People, have made her a YouTube sensation, with thousands of stare-yard compilations of her awkward chatshow appearances. In 2013, she even attempted to wrestle an award from Will Ferrell’s hands on stage at the MTV Movie Awards. It was obvious to everyone that Plaza’s strangeness wasn’t confined to the screen, and she later explained that she refused to give reasons for her refusal.
In the year before last, Plaza took on a new and eccentric persona in the dramatic heights of the West Goes Ingrid-drama comedy, where Ingrid, a young and lost woman who is lonely and obsessed, eventually infiltrates and obsesses over the life of an Instagram influencer, creating a sad and hauntingly amusing peculiar situation.
Allows them to play out their most toxic impulses, giving you a device that lets them give in to what’s happening with everyone on social media but on a smaller scale. Ingrid, who already has trouble having normal, healthy relationships, says she thinks it’s from her phone over in Los Angeles, her home.
Don’t think about it at all.”
In Noah Hawley’s hands, the showrunner of Fargo, the series returns this week for its second season, set in a 1960s retro-futurist universe where routines dance in a silly manner and scenes engage in loud fights. It’s certainly not your average superhero fare, as it’s an adaptation of a Marvel comic called Legion.
Once rescued, Haller is able to hear “voices” as a result of his telepathic powers, but these symptoms are not the usual ones associated with schizophrenia. In the original character played by Dan Stevens, Haller received a diagnosis of schizophrenia as a result of meeting Plaza’s Busker character in the Clockworks psychiatric hospital. Another thing that sets Haller apart from the rest of the Marvel universe is its unique depiction of mental illness.
In the world of television shows where Mr. Robot, Ex-Girlfriend Crazy, and Legion are tackling mental health issues, critics have been divided over the depiction of schizophrenia. Some criticize the show for portraying it in a flimsy way, while others praise its detailed depiction. The equation of superheroism and mental illness in Legion has also been a topic of discussion, with the show increasing sensitivity towards mental health.
Busker: “I’m so interested to hear Plaza’s take on the issue, while she acknowledges her character Lenny’s precise ailment was never clearly labeled, it sounds like Plaza wasn’t claiming it was addiction problems,” she acknowledges. Plaza didn’t do much research into the subject of mental illness in preparation for her role, instead showing the way the horror mines the stresses of the disorientating nature of mental distress. “What is real, what is not real is the overall question,” says Plaza. “Going mad is one of the scariest ideas for me, a really frightening idea to trust your own mind.”Output: Busker: “I’m really interested to hear Plaza’s perspective on the matter, as she admits that her character Lenny’s exact condition was never clearly identified, it seems like Plaza wasn’t suggesting that it was addiction issues,” she acknowledges. Instead of delving deep into researching mental illness for her role, Plaza portrays the disorienting and distressing nature of mental anguish by showcasing the way the horror mines stress the mind. “The overall question is what is real and what is not,” Plaza says. “The idea of going mad is one of the most terrifying concepts for me, it’s a truly frightening notion to rely on your own mind.”
Legion is undeniably terrifying. Each scene is filled with a feeling of unnamable dread, as the bizarre creatures that haunt Haller’s recollections move in and out of clarity (“I know some people who are too disturbed to watch it,” says Plaza). Originally intended for a mature male role, Lenny turned out to be both vulgar and subtly gender-neutral, with Plaza ensuring that all the original conversations were preserved.
“I adore it,” she declares. “There’s a certain smoothness to Lenny and I simply believe it’s more captivating portraying a persona that is not as easily recognizable. It’s truly enjoyable to determine how an individual like that behaves and appears – it has enabled me to pursue any course I desire.” It’s a notion that becomes particularly evident when Lenny is observed in comparison to the show’s other prominent female character Syd, an innocent and youthful mutant who initiates a romantic connection with Haller. I inquire of Plaza how it feels to embody a character whose gender appears so uncertain.
“Plaza states that Lenny possesses a type of masculinity that is not always associated with femininity, but rather a sexual energy. This energy is similar to how Lenny perceives Lenny feels. Plaza finds this dynamic intriguing because she believes that Lenny is constantly in conflict with characters like David Haller. As time progresses and the Shadow King grows more desperate, Lenny resorts to intimidation tactics that are both sexually charged and sinister. However, in addition to using a masculine demeanor to coerce and threaten Haller, Plaza’s portrayal of Lenny in Legion involves physical transformations where she appears unrecognizable – confidently striding and sitting with a wide stance, wearing various suits and dungarees, and sporting a curly bob.”
Despite being possessed by the embodiment of evil, Lenny remains a close pal of Haller’s from the psychiatric hospital. Plaza interprets the original characters’ relationship as a kind of attraction that she feels at times, and their friends also feel this way.
Enough strange scripts don’t impress her, but in addition to her eccentric CV, she still feels like Plaza. It’s called “strenuously bizarre” by Hollywood Reporter, and it has already disturbed critics on the festival circuit. Jemaine Clement co-stars with her in Legion, and the film features another unusual love story between four “freaks”. Greasy Strangler proved to be one of Plaza’s more curious films, and now she stars in Beverly Luff Linn, Jim Hosking’s debut-out gross film. An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn is her next unsettling project, showcasing Plaza in a different sense.
She says, “I’ve always been drawn to weird and strange movies, and growing up, I’ve always wanted more of them. I can’t just believe stories someone would think up, and I always look for strange stories, especially those that satisfy my appetite for mutant-baiting, dimension-hopping creatures. The weirdness where the concerned astral plane’s not quite limited wasn’t enough to sate my appetite for strange stories, suspecting that there are even stranger stories out there.”