Alison Brie Recalls Working With Aubrey Plaza’s Husband Jeff Baena

Alison Brie is recalling the amazing experience she had with Aubrey Plaza’s late husband, filmmaker Jeff Baena, just weeks after his unexpected death.

“He wanted us to have a whole experience that wasn’t just what was on camera,” Brie, 42, told Alex Ross Perry in a story for Vanity Fair, published Wednesday, January 22. “When I think about our two trips to Italy for The Little Hours and Spin Me Round, the social side of it was equal if not more important. Really wanting to bring people out.”

Baena died by suicide on January 3. He was 47.

Perry, also a filmmaker, explained that Baena found “a sense of community” in all aspects of his personality. He wrote about Basketball Jeff, Game Night Jeff and Movie Lover Jeff, adding that he knew some versions of Baena well, while he needed to talk to his friends — like Brie — to learn more about the others.

Related: Celebrities Voice Support for Aubrey Plaza After Husband’s Death

Celebrities are speaking out and voicing their heartbreak and support for Aubrey Plaza following the untimely passing of her husband, Jeff Baena. “No words can touch this painful time,” actress Selma Blair wrote on Plaza’s most recent Instagram post on Saturday, January 4. “Only love and strength and support from everyone. I am so sorry.” […]

Brie worked with Baena on four films, with the two cowriting and producing Horse Girl and Spin Me Round together.

She added that Baena differed from others, who would clock in and out, then move on. For Baena, what happened off camera was just as important as what was on camera.

“There was a magic about working with Jeff — he could sell people on this magic artistic situation,” she continued. “It wasn’t about, ‘Let’s see if this person can act this role.’ It was about, ‘Let’s get a great collection of people and hang with them.’”

Brie posted a tribute of her own to her social media account after Baena’s death, sharing a series of photos of the pair together with a broken heart emoji.

“Rest in peace, my friend,” she wrote via her Instagram Stories at the time.

The Glow actress recalled in a 2022 interview with Collider how she and her husband, Dave Franco, lived near Baena and Plaza, 40. Brie explained how their friendship grew before they worked together on Horse Girl.

“Dave and I lived quite close to Jeff and Aubrey. Jeff and I started hiking together pretty regularly, just as buddies, and during these long hikes, we would talk about different ideas,” Brie said. “Eventually, I felt comfortable enough with him to talk to him about my idea for Horse Girl, which we co-wrote and co-produced together. That was such a good experience.”

After Horse Girl, Brie and Baena worked on romantic comedy Spin Me Round, which Brie starred in alongside Plaza.