Emily in Paris stars Lily Collins and Ashley Park on off-screen friendships, feminism, and filming Netflix’s most talked-about show

“A woman moving to a different country, it’s very different from Carrie Bradshaw,” Lily says. “But I do think that Emily grew up loving Carrie Bradshaw. Like I did,” Lily says. “I think that each woman in our show is very unapologetically themselves. And I always love in Sex And The City, that each of the women were unapologetically who they were. They loved their job; they loved love; they loved fashion; they loved the city; they loved adventure.” 

She continues: “There’s a deep openness within our cast on-screen and behind the camera, that there’s not a fear of looking a certain way with your friends, that I value. I don’t want to feel judged by my friends. I don’t mind being called out… but I don’t want to feel judged. And I felt like those four women really relied on one another to call themselves out and to support them. And I think it’s important to show that in friendships and in sisterhoods – and I think that this show allows for that. And you know, it’s also, of course, bright and bold and bubbly and fashion-forward and fun!”

A few minutes into my interview with Ashley, the 30 year old turns to me, grabs my arm excitedly, gestures at the surrounding studio hubbub of crew, stylists, publicists and hair and makeup artists, and exclaims, “You think that I thought a few years ago that I’d be doing a GLAMOUR cover shoot with Lily effing Collins?! No! Are you dead serious right now?!” It’s this kind of self-deprecating charm (coupled with raw talent) that has sky-rocketed Ashley from star of Broadway musical theatre to being one of the most beloved stars of Emily In Paris and also one of the hottest tickets in Hollywood right now. Exhibit A: Ashley has just returned from Vancouver, shooting her first lead role in the as-yet-untitled R-rated all-Asian comedy, directed by Adele Lim, the co-writer of Crazy Rich Asians and Disney’s Raya And The Last Dragon. Exhibit B: when I enquire as to where she stays when in LA, she casually drops in with her good friend Jesse Tyler Ferguson, as in the comedic titan, aka Mitch from Modern Family.

We’re here to talk friendship and Ashley immediately launches into details of her union with Lily. “There is no scene partner, leading lady, friend-like sister who is as supportive as Lily,” she declares. And amidst tales of the BFFs’ downtime walking along the Seine to dining at their favourite restaurant Loulou, she also puts paid to reports that the show was ill-received by Parisians due to the perceived French stereotypes it portrayed.

“Me and Lily, if we ever had a day off, we’d wander the streets together,” she recalls. “But what was so funny to us, is we were sitting in the Tuileries Gardens, just catching up on everything – and we had masks and sunglasses on – and we just kept on getting recognised! And what was so sweet, was that it wasn’t even what we thought the demographic of our show was. We were so happy that they were so enthusiastic about it, but also just middle-aged men came up and were like, ‘Oh, it’s you guys.’ Not a single person came up to us with a negative response.”