Lily Collins of "Emily in Paris" Doesn't Think Emily Is the New Carrie Bradshaw
Out October 2, Emily in Paris is an escapist Netflix show created by Sex and the City's Darren Star.
The series stars Lily Collins as Emily Cooper, a Chicago-based marketing executive who is transferred to Paris.
Emily in Paris's cast also features Broadway star Ashley Park and French newcomer Lucas Bravo. Here's who else is in the largely French cast.
Watching the cast of Emily in Paris traipse around the City of Lights gave us a serious case of wanderlust. Created by Sex and the City's Darren Star, Emily in Paris follows the international adventures of Emily Cooper (Lily Collins), a Chicagoan who gets transferred to her company's Paris office. Collins joins Emily in Paris's cast of French and American actors, ranging from TV veterans to Broadway stars and relative newcomers.
Like every Star venture, Emily in Paris features over-the-top outfits, dashing love interests, and independent heroines you can't help but root for. But unlike Star's past shows, like Sex and the City and Younger, most of Emily in Paris's cast speaks English with French accents.
The series was filmed entirely in Paris, and with a French crew and mostly French cast. "The [Americans] renewed and refreshed my vision of Paris. I thought I knew this city—but I didn't. I'm a tourist in my own city," Lucas Bravo, who plays Gabriel, tells OprahMag.com.
Bravo says that the cast of Emily in Paris became a "big family." Bravo eventually became roommates with co-stars Ashley Park (Mindy) and Samuel Arnold (Julien). "Ashley has this solar energy. She talks to everyone. She makes it effortless—she has that connecting energy. We decided not to leave each other's sight, because it was too much fun," Bravo says, adding that he visited her in New York.
While we can't technically be a part of the "big family" Bravo describes, we can enjoy the show. Here's what you need to know about the cast of Emily in Paris and what you might have seen them in before.
Lily Collins as Emily Cooper
Lily Collins plays the plucky go-getter at the heart of the show. Speaking to OprahMag.com, Collins says she envisions Emily as someone who grew up loving Sex and the City. "She admires Carrie Bradshaw. She remembered every element of every part of those episodes in Paris. There's a part of her that's pinching herself and going, 'I'm having a Carrie Bradshaw moment,'" Collins says.
Her breakout roles were in The Blind Side and Mirror Mirror, in which she played Snow White. You can also catch Collins in three movies available on Netflix: Okja, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, and To the Bone.Collins happens to be the daughter of Phil Collins—and Charlie McDowell, her new fiancé, is the son of Mary Steenburgen.
Follow her on Instagram: @lilyjcollins
Ashley Park as Mindy Chen
After meeting in a park in Paris, Emily becomes fast friends with Mindy, Park's character. She's the daughter of a Hong Kong tycoon, on the run from the responsibility of running her family's business. Instead, Mindy wants to become a pop star.
Speaking to OprahMag.com, Park reveals that Mindy's singing aspirations were written into her character after she was cast. Park is a Broadway star with with serious singing chops—she earned a Tony nom for her work as Gretchen Wieners in the Mean Girls musical adaptation. You can also watch Park in the Netflix show Tales of the City. She plays an influencer in the San Francisco-based show, akin to Emily herself.
Follow her on Instagram: @ashleyparklady
Lucas Bravo as Gabriel
Lucas Bravo plays Gabriel, Emily's next-door neighbor–and most enduring crush. We may have to wait to see more of the French actor on screen. Emily in Paris is his first major role, and he'll appear in the movie Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.
When asked what it's like to embody the French heartthrob in Emily in Paris, Bravo is humble. "I love acting, and I hope Emily in Paris gives me more opportunities to do what I love," Bravo says.
Follow him on Instagram: @lucasnbravo
Camille Razat as Camille
Camille Razat is a French model and actress who happens to share the same name as her Emily in Paris character, Camille. Camille (of the show) has an undeniable, effortless French girl chic, and is dating Gabriel. Prior to Emily in Paris, Razat's biggest role was in the true crime miniseries The Disappearance.
Follow her on Instagram: @camillerazat
Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu as Sylvie
Not everyone is amused by Emily's wide-eyes enthusiasm and can-do spirit. Sylvie, Emily's boss played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, would much like to see the office newcomer buy a one-way ticket back to Chicago. Many of the show's best culture clash scenes are between Sylvie and Emily.
Leroy-Beaulieu is a seasoned French actress, appearing in French movies and miniseries dating back to the '80s. To see her in another English-language work, Leroy-Beaulieu was in the 2013 Rosemary's Baby remake. Or, for lighter fare, catch her in the French sitcom Call My Agent!, available to stream on Netflix.
Follow her on Instagram: @philippineleroybeaulieu
Samuel Arnold as Julien
French actor Samuel Arnold plays Julien, one of the Parisian office workers who is on Team Emily—as opposed to Sylvie, who is not.
Speaking to The Creative Diaries podcast, Arnold revealed that he was a dancer before he was an actor. He attended acting school in Paris and London, where he learned English. Emily in Paris is his first major role, though he acted alongside Ralph Fiennes in a theatrical production of Antony & Cleopatra in London.
Follow him on Instagram: @superssama
Jean-Christophe Bouvet as Pierre
When you think Paris, you think fashion—and Jean Christophe Bouvet's character, Pierre, is at the center of that world. He's a client of Emily's agency. A legend, 74-year-old Bouvet has appeared in a movie nearly every year since 1971, nearly all of them French. One you might recognize? Marie Antoinette, the lush biopic of the French queen directed by Sofia Coppola.
William Abadie as Antoine
Sex and the City fans might recognize William Abadie from a brief appearance in the series, in which he plays an enthusiastic Prada salesman (Carrie sets him up with Charlotte). Nearly two decades after that appearance, Abadie has a starring role in another Darren Star series, going from salesman to a slick titan of industry.
Since that 2003 episode of Sex and the City, Abadie has also appeared in other American shows, including Homeland, Gossip Girl, and Sweetbitter.
Follow him on Instagram: @william_abadie
Kate Walsh as Madeline
The only issue with Kate Walsh's presence in Emily in Paris is that there's simply not enough of it. She plays Madeline, Emily's boss in Chicago who originally is supposed to work in Paris—but then gets pregnant. The Grey's Anatomy star is mainly in the first episode, aside from a few sparse FaceTime interactions. Maybe Madeline and her baby will show up in season 2. Walsh is also in the Netflix teen show 13 Reasons Why, which is as sad as Emily in Paris is escapist.
Follow her on Instagram: @katewalsh
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