Aubrey Plaza (41) Revealed Hilarious Truth About Real 18+ Scene with Robert De Niro (82)

Aubrey Plaza, known for her offbeat roles and dark humor, once shared a wild story from filming the 2016 comedy Dirty Grandpa. She played a young woman obsessed with Robert De Niro’s character, and her commitment to the role reportedly left the legendary actor completely unnerved.

Plaza said that during one intimate scene, things got so intense that it almost felt real. “I was trying to get close and, like, suck on his nipples, and he pushed me away. I didn’t know if it was part of the scene or not,” she said. She quickly realized, “Bob doesn’t like people touching his nipple area,” and joked, “Great, now he thinks I actually wanted to do it.”

The actress explained that she stayed almost entirely in character on set and barely interacted with De Niro off-camera. “I didn’t really have a relationship with him off-camera because he’s him. 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,” Plaza recalled in an interview with Variety. Her intense method acting apparently made De Niro a little scared. “I heard from my agent that he was really freaked out,” she said.

She described a moment later in production when De Niro hosted a luncheon and didn’t recognize her outside of her character. “I showed up, and he’s like, ‘Who are you sweetheart?’ and after that he was normal,” Plaza said.

Plaza also revealed that she actively went against typecasting during her audition for Dirty Grandpa. “The part they wanted me to audition for was the other [female] role, which was probably more in line with who I should have been. But I was like, ‘No, I want to audition for the blond-haired, big-breasted promiscuous person that wants to have s** with an old man,’” she told IndieWire. Her bold choice earned her the role, and she added her own spin on the character.

The Ingrind Goes West star said that taking risks like this has motivated her to surprise audiences and challenge expectations. “It gave me motivation to prove myself,” she explained. “If I convince people so well that I was that one thing and then I do something totally different, it will be that much more satisfying to surprise them.”

Plaza noted that she approaches comedy and drama with the same focus. “I actually don’t feel like I’ve done a comedy in a while. I don’t really approach them any different. To me, if it’s a comedy or a drama, I have the same process that I go through, and the audience can decide if it’s funny or not,” she said.

Plaza’s story gives a behind-the-scenes look at how seriously she takes her craft, even if it means freaking out a Hollywood legend. What do you think about her method acting approach? Share your thoughts in the comments.