Q: Your character in this film is a lot more level-headed compared to girlfriend characters in other films. How was it like being the more straight one in this film?

RASHIDA: It's really fun. It's such a good position to be in because you get to be the audience for craziness. You just get to absorb everyone else's hilarity. It's a really nice position to be in. It's sometimes difficult to not crack up and ruin takes.

Q: What's the strategy for not cracking up around Paul and Jason?

RASHIDA: You just have to not make direct eye contact. The engagement party scene when Jason is giving that speech - I couldn't get through it. He couldn't get through it so I couldn't get through it and he was saying the whole thing to me. I just looked away. I was like, "I'm sorry, but I'm off camera. It's either this or we don't get through it."

Q: What's your experience and philosophy about man love?

RASHIDA: I actually think that this is a very topical, modern dilemma and in a weird like sociological way I'm glad that we're confronting it because I think it's really hard for me to find friends or to reach out to friends without feeling that they're compromising their machismo. I think that they need to start stepping it up because women are very good at that. They're good at being emotionally expressive and being intimate with their friends. I feel like it's about time. This is the right time for men to start feeling more comfortable with being intimate in a heterosexual way, or however they choose to be, with other men.

Q: Why do you think it's so hard for men to bond?

RASHIDA: I think that they're still kind of held back by stereotypes. I feel like women have had like women's lib and all these revolutions where they've evolved and have been able to do whatever it is, have kids, nurture, be nurtured, be independent, be a business woman and they can kind of do it all and it's all acceptable and it's okay and it's the cultural norm. Guys really haven't had that breakthrough moment where it's okay to cry, where it's okay to tell your friend that you love him or that it's okay to go and find friends.

Q: Did you have conversations with them about man love?

RASHIDA: I didn't have to have any conversations with them because there's so much man love between those two actors. They love each other so much. I just got to sit back and witness it. It's kind of a sweet, sweet thing.

Q: You and Paul seemed to work really well together. Did that chemistry come naturally to you two?

RASHIDA: Well, we had the fortune of having ten years of friendship as prep work. We've known each other for a long time which made it a lot easier. It feels a little bit like a cheat because we do care about each other and are friends already. We wanted to make sure that that relationship, that I didn't seem like the nagging girlfriend who was like, 'Spend more time with me –' and that he didn't seem like too much of a sap or too kind of confused and out of control. We did try our best on that. We worked with John and did a bunch of rehearsals to find that perfect note for that relationship.

Q: At what point in your life did you know that comedy was something you wanted to do?

RASHIDA: You know what, it was kind of a slow burn. I've always been a huge comedy geek, like love standup. Anything comedy related I've always just feasted on, but I didn't know if I would be good at it or if people would want to cast me like that. It took me a long time to get cast in anything comedy related because it is kind of a small world and they use the same people all the time. But now I'm in it a little bit it's the best job in the world. You get to laugh all day long and it's so fun to watch talented comedians for your job, as your job. I'd be open to doing other stuff, but I think to also make someone laugh, it's such a subjective thing what people find funny that to make a group of people laugh is such a huge achievement.

Q: What happened to that Harvard education?

RASHIDA: I know, right. What a waste [laughs]. It all amounted to this moment.

Q: What did you study there?

RASHIDA: Religion and philosophy.

Q: With your role in "The Office," how have you seen your fan base change?

RASHIDA: It's been nice. At this point, people who were fans of "The Office" are fans. I mean, they're hardcore fans. Most people only approach me to be nice which is really sweet. It's still something that catches you off guard when it's eight in the morning and you feel like you're alone and getting a coffee and someone recognizes you, you almost forget that you're in public. So that's been really nice. It's definitely changing a little bit. I got followed by one of those TMZ guys the other day and I did not enjoy that very much. I mean I understand that that's a part of it but that whole thing about that being what you signed up for, I don't think that I really signed up to be followed by a stalker.

Q: Can you describe your character in "Parks and Recreation" and how it's different from "The Office"?

RASHIDA: It's a new character, a new world. New characters. Similar documentary style, but Greg Daniels, our creator, is always saying that "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Friends" are kind of in the same format, but that doesn't make them similar shows.

Q: So it's the same shooting style as "The Office"?

RASHIDA: It is documentary style, but the people, the documentary crew come to it in a different way. You kind of don't know on 'The Office' who the crew is and you start to understand that there's kind of two crews in our show. One is sort of following me. I'm the concerned citizen who's boyfriend who has hurt himself falling into this huge pit in front of our house. He broke his legs and I want something to be done about it because it's front of my house and it's horrible and people are getting hurt. Amy Poehler plays the Deputy Head of Parks and Recreation and she's sort of been followed about a documentary on local government. They kind of come together, our characters come together and become friends and start to work on this project together.

Q: What sort of acting challenges does working in the mockumentary format pose as compared to something like this film?

RASHIDA: That's an interesting question. I think mainly it's about keeping everything real. We're constantly going back to logic because you want to make sure that with whatever scenes just happened that it's clear how the crew got there and if they catch somebody why they're even there. We just want to make sure that it feels like it could be a documentary. So that's one challenge. Then I'm also still so uncomfortable about looking into the camera because as an actor you're always like, "Don't look at the camera, don't look at the camera!" You have two jobs. Stay on your mark and do not look at the camera. So I actually didn't do it that much on "The Office" and now I'm starting to have to do that a little bit because I have more of a part of the narrative. So I'm still struggling with looking at the camera. That's a little challenging, too.

Q: Has it been a help or a hindrance having famous parents?

RASHIDA: The celebrity part of it, in a weird way, and no one is ever going to believe me was kind of a hindrance when I was young and trying to come up in the business because everyone assumed that I got help. It doesn't matter how many times I told them that I didn't. So everyone wants to the one to counteract that, like, 'I'm not giving her any handouts. She gets so many handouts.' Everyone feels that way, and listen, if I had gotten a handout I definitely would've taken it because it was so hard. I just never got any [laughs]. But that's okay. It's better this way because now I got here by myself. I'm happy that they're successful and talented though.

"I Love You, Man" opens in theaters everywhere Friday.