During its seven-season run, Parks and Recreation welcomed numerous high-profile guest stars. Amy Poehler’s role as the idealistic Leslie Knope put her on camera with major names from the worlds of film, music, sports, and, of course, politics. Still, when she came face-to-face with then-First Lady Michelle Obama in a 2014 episode, she couldn’t keep her cool.
A Drool-Worthy Meeting
Poehler and Obama reunited during the May 13 episode of Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, and the two reminisced about their scene together on Parks and Rec. In the Season 6 episode “Moving Up, Part 1,” Leslie goes to a National Parks conference in San Francisco and encounters Michelle Obama herself. Their hilarious run-in turns a shocked Leslie into an awkward fangirl, while the gracious first lady encourages her to take a job in Chicago.
For Obama, being on the sitcom was “so cool.” Poehler agreed, but she also recalled an embarrassing situation that arose because she, like Leslie, could barely handle her excitement. Thanks to a combination of being starstruck and having “very active salivary glands,” she ended up drooling during their first take.
“You were perfect. You got your line,” Poehler said. “You hit your mark, you said your line, and my character, Leslie Knope, is supposed to be overwhelmed by seeing you, and I, Amy Poehler, was also very jazzed. And I went to say my line and I drooled.”
The memory didn’t ring any bells for Obama, which was a relief for Poehler. “Do you not remember?” she asked. “I’m so glad you don’t remember. I full-on drooled.”
Poehler recalled that Obama did notice her mishap at the time but said FLOTUS was a “total pro” and seemed to think, “OK, maybe this is a choice.” Then, after director Michael Schur called cut, Poehler said, “I was like, ‘Did I just drool?’ And you’re like, ‘You did. You did.’”
“A Blur”
As stressful as it may have been for Poehler to act opposite Obama, the cameo was also a new challenge for the first lady. Obama remembered the day as “a blur,” explaining, “The thing is, like, I’m not an actress, and I’m running lines and trying to figure out … I was nervous.” Her goal was to “get it right” and to “be [herself] in a natural way” — a feat she accomplished.
It has been 11 years since the episode aired, and both women looked back at that period with nostalgia.
“That was such a fun time because not only was I getting to do the job that I loved, but it was a time when it felt like everybody wanted to stop by and be part of the show that was about public service,” Poehler said. “And it was a different time where there was this ability or lightness, I think, in many ways, to just put a bunch of different people together in a room and they don’t agree and they still find a way to work together.”
