Rashida Jones - Career

Career

Jones made her professional acting debut in The Last Don, a 1997 mini-series based on the novel by Mario Puzo. She then appeared in Myth America, East of A and If These Walls Could Talk 2. In 2000, she guest starred as Karen Scarfolli in an episode of Freaks and Geeks before landing the role of Louisa Fenn on Boston Public. Between 2000 and 2002, she appeared in 26 episodes, earning an NAACP Image Award nomination in her final year. Although she only had a minor supporting role in the series, film opportunities quickly surfaced. She had a small role in Full Frontal, directed by Steven Soderbergh, and starred in Now You Know, written and directed by Kevin Smith regular Jeff Anderson. She also starred in the short film Roadside Assistance with Adam Brody.

After Jones left Boston Public, she appeared in Death of a Dynasty, directed by Damon Dash, and two episodes of Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central. In 2004, she was cast in Strip Search, an HBO film directed by Sidney Lumet, but her scenes were cut from the final broadcast version. Later that year, she played Dr. Rachel Keyes in Little Black Book and starred as Edie Miller in British drama series NY-LON. In 2005, Jones played Karen in the Stella pilot on Comedy Central and special government agent Carla Merced in the TNT police drama Wanted.

Jones joined the ensemble cast of The Office in September 2006, playing the role of Karen Filippelli. She appeared regularly during the third season and then returned as a guest star for two episodes in season four and another in season five. Jones had been considering leaving the acting profession and pursuing a graduate degree in public policy before she was offered the part on The Office. Jones also played Karen in the February 2007 Saturday Night Live episode hosted by Rainn Wilson, appearing briefly in the opening monologue's Office parody. Jones filmed cameo roles in The Ten and Role Models, both directed by David Wain, with the latter appearing on the Blu-ray release. She then co-starred in Unhitched, the short-lived 2008 comedy series produced by the Farrelly brothers. She also appeared as the love interest in the Foo Fighters music video "Long Road To Ruin."

In January 2009, Jones voiced several characters in an episode of the Adult Swim show Robot Chicken. She played Hannah in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, an independent film by John Krasinski that screened during the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. She also co-starred as Zooey Rice in I Love You, Man, a Dreamworks comedy with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. Jones then accepted a role in Parks and Recreation, a mockumentary-style sitcom on NBC. The show was created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, with whom she previously worked on The Office. She has played nurse Ann Perkins since its primetime debut in April 2009.

Jones had a small role in the Kevin Smith film Cop Out. She appeared in The Social Network, alongside Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake, which is set at Harvard, coincidentally the school from which she graduated in 1997. She played Marylin Delpy, a second year legal associate assisting with the defense of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

She has a starring role opposite Chris Messina in Monogamy, a drama directed by Dana Adam Shapiro. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2010 and was released theatrically on March 11, 2011.

Jones' other 2011 films were Friends with Benefits, starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, The Big Year, with Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and JoBeth Williams, The Muppets, with Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Chris Cooper, and Our Idiot Brother, with Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, and Emily Mortimer. In the latter she played a lesbian lawyer named Cindy, the caring, responsible girlfriend of a flaky bisexual played by Zooey Deschanel. Jones also has a cameo in the Beastie Boys' short film Fight For Your Right Revisited, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Jones also appeared on an episode of Wilfred as Lisa, a hospice volunteer. The episode aired on July 21, 2011 on FX.

In 2012, she starred opposite Andy Samberg in the film Celeste and Jesse Forever, which she also co-wrote.