To play the role of a convincing scam artist for her latest film Emily The Criminal, Aubrey Plaza had to learn how to commit credit card fraud - not that she's going to do it...
It's definitely not a typical skill that an actor has to learn before taking on a new project - usually it's something like horseback riding, stunt fighting, or a foreign accent - but Aubrey Plaza was so dedicated to the role of Emily Benetto for the hair-raising crime thriller Emily The Criminal that she decided to go all out.
Now, if she wants to, she can seamlessly operate the equipment needed to commit credit card fraud and potentially scam people and businesses out of thousands. Again, not that she would do that.
Advert
The film, which had its UK premiere at this year's BFI London Film Festival, tells the story of a college gradate who's drowning in student debt. And thanks to an unfortunate criminal record, Emily can't find a job to settle her debts either.
As times get tough, Emily winds up involved in a credit card scam, acting as a dummy shopper and buying increasingly risky products with stolen credit cards.
I had heard rumblings that Aubrey now had the means to run her own credit card scam so, when we finally met, it was obviously the first question I asked her.
She confirmed: "I just need the numbers. But yeah, I know how to do it. Basically I know how to do it."
Advert
When the film first dropped, the Child's Play actor told Jimmy Kimmel Live! that it was the film's prop master who taught her how to work the embossing machine and make her own fake credit cards.
He told her: "'You know, I'm gonna teach you how to do this, but obviously don't do it.'"
So basically, the Parks and Rec star is all set if the acting gig goes south.
"If things don't work out for me with this stuff", she admitted.
Advert
"I'm gonna get one of those machines because I know where to get them now, and I know how to do it."
It's been a busy year for Aubrey, so chances are, things aren't going to fall through for her any time soon. On top of Emily The Criminal, she has starred in films Spin Me Round and Operation Fortune: Russe De Guerre, her production company's first cartoon series Little Demon, and season two of the award-winning drama The White Lotus.
And, looking to the future, Aubrey's already got some ideas for her next projects.
Advert
"I would love to do a Christmas thing. I love holiday stuff. I'd love to do like a period piece. I don't think I've really ever done something like that."
But, if she's picking her next job based on another useful skill she'd like to pick up, she's going with an apocalypse flick.
"I would really love to be a pilot or just like learn how to fly a plane. That'd be really good", she said.
"Like an apocalypse kind of situation where sh** really goes down."
Advert
To be fair, if she gets her pilot's license and the credit card fraud machine, she's not far off a Catch Me If You Can situation.
Emily The Criminal is out now.
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV