Ashley Park takes the wheel with 'Joy Ride,' this summer's wildest R-rated movie

Ashley Park is no longer riding shotgun.

Over the past decade, the ebullient scene-stealer has made a name in supporting roles, playing the best friend (Mindy in “Emily in Paris”), the neighbor (Naomi in “Beef”) and the queen bee’s subordinate (Gretchen in Broadway’s “Mean Girls”). But in “Joy Ride” (in theaters Friday), Park is top-billed for the very first time, leading Adele Lim’s irreverent R-rated comedy about four friends running amok in China.

When Park initially read the script, she had no clue she was being considered for the main character, Audrey, who was adopted as a baby from China by a white American family. Now grown and an ambitious young lawyer, Audrey flies to Beijing to meet a prospective client, who asks her to prove her Chinese bona fides. Determined to close the deal, she embarks on a bonkers adventure to find her birth mother with the help of motley pals Lolo (Sherry Cola), Kat (Stephanie Hsu) and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu).

“I’m used to reading scripts as supporting characters, so I was just kind of like, ‘Oh, I guess I am a little bit Kat or Lolo,’ “ Park says. “I’ve gotten very used to being happy taking what I’m given.”

But with Audrey, “there was so much about her that I connected to. I was like, ‘If there’s ever been a moment to step up and be the protagonist of a story, this feels very right.’ “

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How Ashley Park 'connected' to her 'Joy Ride' character

Park, 32, was born to Korean parents in Glendale, California, and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After undergoing treatment for acute myeloid leukemia at 15, she found an escape of sorts onstage: starring in high school productions of “Miss Saigon” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie” before studying musical theater at the University of Michigan. She made her Broadway debut at 22 in the ensemble of “Mamma Mia!” and soon earned Grammy and Tony nominations for her work in “The King and I” and “Mean Girls,” respectively.

“I really entered this industry with no expectations, but just hopes to do my best, do jobs that help me learn and grow, and earn every rung of that ladder,” Park says.

When "Joy Ride" begins, Audrey is trying to make partner at a predominantly white firm. She uses high achievement as both a weapon and a shield, and is constantly made to feel that she’s “too Asian” for America but “too white” for China. Park could understand that desire to not be pigeonholed.

“What I’ve learned – and what Audrey learns, too – is how to not feel like you have to prove yourself to everyone else,” Park says. “Being in the Broadway world and growing up the way I did, I’d be one of, if not the only Asian person around. I grew up feeling very much like, ‘Oh, if people don’t see me as that, then they’re really seeing me.’ “

She was 'fearless' shooting raunchy (and stomach-churning) scenes

Audrey’s road to self-discovery is filled with detours as she and her cohorts cut loose. At one point, they’re forced to snort and stash a bunch of cocaine in their privates after they’re framed for drug-running. (In reality, it was B12 vitamin powder.)  In another gross-out scene, Audrey projectile-vomits in a nightclub.

“The special-effects person was like, ‘What are your favorite flavors?’ " Park recalls. "I said cinnamon rolls, so they made it out of a mixture of oats and cinnamon. It was actually very flavorful.”

The actress also shot her first intimate scene: an over-the-top threesome with hunky basketball players.

“What took me by surprise was how she fearless she was in tackling the raunchy sex scenes,” Lim says. “It's funny that Ashley is starring in a movie laden with sex and drugs when she doesn't even smoke weed (in real life). The crew had to coach her on how to use a bong. It's adorable.”

The actress recalls 'special' message from her 'Only Murders' co-star Meryl Streep

With its outrageous high jinks and genuine heart, “Joy Ride” has earned critical acclaim (97% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes). The movie has been compared to buddy comedies “Bridesmaids” and “The Hangover,” but also has broken new ground in the genre by centering four Asian actors – a still-rare occurrence in Hollywood, despite the box-office success of “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

“I’m just happy to see a movie I would have loved to have seen when I was a kid,” says Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, who co-wrote the film with fellow “Family Guy” alum Teresa Hsiao. “The fact that this movie is putting faces onscreen that you may not have seen in an R-rated comedy before – and a whole bunch of them – gets 10-year-old me very hyped.”

Park will continue to show off her comedy chops in Season 3 of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” (premiering Aug. 8), joining the cast alongside Meryl Streep.

“At the end of the shoot, I had everybody sign a piece of memorabilia,” Park says. “I handed it to her, she took my Sharpie and wrote, ‘I see you, Ash ‒ Meryl.’ I have to frame that. Just to get that from her, and her saying that, was very special.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Joy Ride' star Ashley Park talks 'special' note from Meryl Streep