Ashley Park Calls Topless Performance in 'Emily in Paris' "Her Worst Nightmare"
"It was so stressful and so hard to do."
Ashley Park is opening up about *that* scene in the new season of Emily In Paris.
Earlier this week, while attending an Emily In Paris press event in Rome, Italy, the actress told People in an exclusive interview that performing a topless scene in the hit, guilty pleasure Netflix show was "every actor's worst nightmare."
"We have this recurrent memory of being onstage, not knowing what you're doing, in your underwear," the Joy Ride star explained at the time. "And that is what I was living out actually, but surrounded by the most beautiful dancers in the world around me."
In the latest season of the popular streaming show, Park's character, Mindy Chen, takes a new job at a burlesque club, aptly named Crazy Horse, and as part of her inaugural performance has to take off her top. Of course, she is aided by her dear friend, Emily Cooper (played by Lily Collins), as she navigates the requirements of her new gig.
"It was so stressful and so hard to do," Park continued. "If it had not been for the choreographer, Kyle Hanagami, coming in and my team around me, I don't think I would've gotten through it."
While the scene was clearly daunting for Park, she told the publication that she is "actually really proud (of it) now," adding that the experience is something she "will never forget doing."
Park stars alongside her real-life boyfriend, Paul Forman, who plays Park's love interest in the show. Last month, while appearing at the Season 4, Part 1 premiere in Los Angeles, Forman praised his girlfriend for not only her acting prowess but for who she is as a person.
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"She's the most extraordinary human being I've ever met in my life," he told Entertainment Tonight at the time. "It's just her energy, she's the most kind-hearted human being I've ever met. She's so generous and kind and yeah, I'm a very lucky man."
Park also weighed in on what it's like to work alongside her boyfriend.
"It's so wild to be able to share a big moment like this together, and especially because of what we've gone through this year," Park explained to ET. "I don't think I would have been able to be a part of this season if it had not been for him, so I think it's a beautiful thing that we get to, like, share in a joyful thing together. And yeah, he's absolutely the most stellar man I've ever met."
Forman is not the only Emily in Paris star Park has grown close to. After four seasons, Park and Collins have become real life BFFs who consistently comment on each other's Instagrams, supporting each other from afar with loving captions and comments.
"I was discussing with Lily the other day what an adult friendship is. And first of all, we are so f****** lucky, me and Lily. We both came into each other’s lives at a time when we needed that exact kind of friendship. ... We came to each other at the exact right moment," Park said of her relationship with Collins in an interview ahead of Season 4.
"What I love about (Mindy and Emily) so much," Park continued, referring to their on-screen counterparts, "(is) there's just never any judgement ... I never have to do anything to feel or understood by Lily which is very, very rare."
Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.
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