Emily in Paris’ star, Ashley Park is now starring as the lead in the
newly-released raunchy comedy, ‘Joy Ride’
Ashley Park is still
trying to grasp the fact that she is finally starring as lead in the movie,
Joy Ride.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, the actress, 32,
reflected on her journey of finally getting her first lead in a movie despite
being in the industry for a decade.
The only time she starred in a lead was in the 2015 Broadway
revival of The King and I.
“I started on Broadway in the ensemble
and as an understudy, and I really worked hard and learned a lot, and then I
earned a place in different kinds of roles,” she told VF.
“I’m
really glad that this is the first time I’ve been number one on a call sheet
or been the lead or that a movie centred on my story as the protagonist. First
of all, it made for such a healthy set because the four of us are so used to
being supportive and making sure that everyone else’s stories and everyone
else’s moments are being heard.”
However, she explained that there were moments when people around
her reminded that she was “allowed to take up space.”
“Which is so
funny when I would hear that because I would think, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’ve been so
ready to take up space.’ But when you’ve kind of spent three decades not, and
finding genuine happiness and value in being supporting, then it’s hard to
take that conditioning off of yourself.,” she continued.
“Even on
the last day, there’s a tradition on set most of the time where the number one
on the call sheet makes some kind of speech. I’ve never had this happen, but I
froze.”
She described, “I couldn’t even take up that space because
I think I was still processing. I remember that stuck with me for a while
because I remember being on sets and being like, ‘One day I’ll be so happy to
be able to do that.’ And it was almost like I froze because I so wasn’t used
to it.”
