Ashley Park reflects on journey of landing first lead role with ‘Joy Ride’

Ashley Park, who is known for her role as Mindy Chen in Emily Paris, is now leading in her newly-released 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's 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.”