'I Love You' star Rashida Jones embraces improv

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Rashida Jones adores, treasures, delights and is truly head-over-heels about acting. That includes everything from her current starring role in the new feature film "I Love You, Man" to her improvisational comedy work on the new NBC comedy series "Parks and Recreation."

And to think, she almost didn't go after an acting career.

The young actress is the daughter of music mogul Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton ("Mod Squad"). As an act of defiance against her show-business parents, Jones decided she would pursue a law career.

There was just one flaw in the plan. She started taking a few college acting classes while attending Harvard.

"I was having such a good time with the acting classes, I decided I should at least give acting a try," says Jones during a telephone interview to talk about her new movie role. It is the latest step on the 33-year-old's acting career path that started a decade ago with the miniseries "The Last Don."

In "I Love You, Man," Jones plays Zooey, an outgoing woman who is surrounded by a bevy of female friends. The problem is that her uptight fiance, Peter (Paul Rudd), is not so outgoing. He has no buddies. A desperate search for a male friend brings together Peter and Sydney (Jason Segel). The comedy results from the odd way this mismatched pair connects.

Jones had no problem understanding the movie's central theme about how men and women have different kinds of friendships. She'll tell most anything to her female friends. But with guys, that's a different matter.

"Woman are very candid and detailed when they talk. I find that guys don't like to talk about things in detail like that," Jones says.

Although Jones has appeared in such television dramas as "Wanted" and "Boston Public," her most recent works have been in comedy, most of the improvisational variety.

In her recurring role on "The Office," on "Parks and Recreation" and in this movie, Jones was given the leeway to come up with her own funny material.

Jones felt far more comfortable with the improvisational comedy she got to do in the film than when she was on "The Office." She spent most of her time on that NBC series just watching and learning from the cast, especially Steve Carell. Now, with "Parks and Recreation," set to debut April 9, Jones has been having a lot of fun improvising with co-star Amy Poehler.

"With every day I get to do improv, especially working with people who are pros at it, the more I feel comfortable. They elevate me, and that gives me more confidence in my abilities," Jones says.

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© 2009, The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.).

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