The 'Mirror Mirror' actress admits she, just like her onscreen character in Netflix's new show 'Emily in Paris', felt lost when staying in the City of Lights during the filming.
- Oct 4, 2020
AceShowbiz - Lily Collins didn't have to dig too deep to play an American struggling with the French language and culture in "Emily in Paris" - she lived the role in the City of Lights.
The actress plays a naive and romantic marketing executive trying to get to grips with Paris in the new Netflix series and admits life mirrored art while she was living in the city.
Unlike her clueless character, Lily knew a little French but it was not enough to help her deal with the everyday dramas she faced when she was not filming.
"I grew up speaking French but then stopped practising, so I wasn't versed enough when I got there and to play a character that hardly understands the language at all to then, on weekends, try to do it myself like I used to, it was very difficult for me."
"Also, things that happened to Emily happened to me, like I lost hot water for two weeks, my apartment didn't have heating, my elevator stopped working, there was construction everywhere."
"There were these moments where I thought to myself, 'Are you guys planning this so that I can have empathy for Emily...?' But it was such a fun experience and I feel so grateful even more to have been there as a local for four months because now all I want to do is travel."
Lily admits that watching the series, which debuts on Netflix this weekend (02Oct20), makes her realise the world is now a very different place thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I go, 'Oh my God, there's too many people there (in that scene)' or 'Don't touch... Don't do the French three-kiss hello'. It seems a world gone by to be able to experience it like that."
