Q&A: Lily Collins is “Emily in Paris”, Rome and Barcelona

ROME (AP) — First Paris, now Rome and next Barcelona — Lily Collins takes on two more European cities.

As Star and producer of “Emily in Paris”, She plays the marketing executive who has bad luck in France and breaks hearts (including her own) in the last three seasons of the Netflix series.

This changes in the second part of the fourth season as Emily sets off for Italy in her usual dramatic style. The cast, including Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Lucas Bravo, Ashley Park and Camille Razat were all in Rome this week to present the new episodes, which will be released on Thursday. Future seasons may feature more of leaving Paris, as the writer and creator Darren Star says he is excited to tour with the show.

However, he rules out a change of title.

“No, it's 'Emily in Paris,'” says Star. “But Emily can have experiences in other cities and I think Rome is part of the show now. It really is.”

Barcelona comes into play in October when Collins makes her West End debut opposite Alvaro Morte from “House of Money” in a stage thriller named after the Spanish city.

Fortunately, Filming “Emily in Paris” in public places helped the actress become a leading lady on stage.

“It gave me a little more confidence and a feel for what it was like to perform in front of a big audience that year,” says Collins. “Ironically, it was the year I would be doing theater right after that.”

In a recent interview with the Associated Press in Rome, Collins explained why now is the right time for her London stage debut and how filming in Rome allowed her to recreate Audrey Hepburn's Italian adventure in Roman Holiday on screen. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

COLLINS: Yes. I mean, I love her. Nobody can copy her, but I admired her as a child.

AP: There were two clear references to her (in the second part) – “Roman Holiday” and “Charade” – did I miss something?

COLLINS: No, I think it was the two of them. Roman Holiday – you feel their essence all the time. Because when you're here – how can you not, you know?

AP: What was it like shooting these scenes with the Vespa around Rome…

COLLINS: Breathtaking.

AP: I assume you had to make the rounds quite often?

COLLINS: We drove around so much, which was funny because the tourists would notice, of course, this huge machine and then a car with a Vespa attached to it. And then we were riding on a real Vespa. But then there was the transport vehicle. So what were they filming? And then when they found out it was our show, it was funny.

It was also surreal because you walk around the Colosseum and everything in Rome is beautiful and old. And I had to pinch myself, but it was incredible, explore another city. I'd been to Paris before the show, so it was a role to play Emily, who was brand new to the city. This time, however, I'd been to Rome before, but had never really explored it or been here for any length of time. So it was a whole new adventure, but also for me. And for Emily, it was more like vacation mode, which I was happy for her. I was like, “Go, girl. You're getting a little vacation.”

AP: Do you think it could continue like this?

COLLINS: I really hope so. We'll just wait and see (fingers crossed). But it would be really nice to see more of Italy. I think there's so much here. But I don't know.

AP: I want to ask you about the transition from television shows to theater.

COLLINS: I'm very excited. But of course I'm nervous too. And it's a whole new world for me. I did theatre as a child, but this is something I've dreamt of my whole life. And the West End is the West End. But it really just feels surreal and I love my team that we're working with. I think it's a beautiful script. And the theatre is unique, I love the Duke of York (Theater) and our director (Lynette Linton). It's a wonderful, wonderful group.

AP: So this is Lily in Barcelona.

COLLINS: Yes, exactly (laughs). All different cities in Europe.

AP: How does that fit in with your work on television and the show?

COLLINS: It's also about timing, because… theater is something I've always wanted to do. But it's a time commitment, and when you do something like Emily in Paris, that's the biggest time commitment. You have to make sure it's right at the right time. But it's not just about that, either. It's about the project. When I read Barcelona, ​​I thought, “This is it.” And, “How do I do this? How much time do we have? How do we do this with theater?” You know? So it was a bit like Tetris, but for me it's a different medium, it requires a different skill set, it's a different experience.

This season, because Emily in Paris is more well-known, it becomes a bit like live theater when you're out on the street because you can't control the people watching you. And so sometimes there are scenes when you're near (Emily's) house or you are in Rome or you're skiing in the mountains where hundreds of people come just to watch. So it's a bit like theatre. You're playing for an audience that, weirdly, doesn't know the plot, so it's a bit the same and a bit different. It's like, 'But you won't see this for a couple of months, so please don't give it away!' Whereas with theatre, it's the moment.