On Aug. 31, the San Jose State “Spartan Speaker Series” kicked off with its first guest speaker of the Fall Semester: 31-year-old Korean-American actress Ashley Park.
Park, who is currently filming the third season of the popular Netflix romantic comedy “Emily in Paris,” joined the Spartan Speaker Series webinar directly from Paris at 5:15 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
During the conference, Park spoke about her theater and TV career, and reflected on a challenging period during her teenage years.
When she was a sophomore at the age of 15, Park was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, which is a bone marrow cancer that often quickly moves into the blood and can spread to other parts of the body including lymph nodes and the central nervous system.
“Right before Christmas, I got diagnosed with blood cancer leukemia,” Park said during the Zoom event. “I spent about 8 months inpatient and I went through six rounds of chemotherapy.”
She said when she was told her health was “not that great,” she still believed she would survive.
“At the time, while having someone else’s life going on and mine was in pause, I found myself really wanting to be there for a lot of people,” Park said.
She said her health conditions improved after chemotherapy, but doctors said there were a lot of complications that could have happened in the long term.
“I was determined to not let any part of my life be affected by this thing,” Park said. “I did not want to be defined by something that I did not choose.”
That period of her life helped shape who she is today.
After 14 years, Park obtained the role of Mindy Chen in the rom-com show “Emily in Paris.”
Emily Cooper, the central character of the show played by Lily Collins, moved from the U.S. to Paris after receiving a job opportunity. During the first episode, Cooper randomly meets Chen, a Chinese Korean nanny living in Paris who studied and lived in Indianapolis.
In the show, Chen helps Cooper during her first weeks in Paris because she is alone and new to the city, and the two girls start building a solid friendship.
Most of the time, Chen is characterized by her humor.
During the webinar, Park spoke about the many challenging and exciting elements of starring in a Netflix TV show.
“Living in a foreign city, even if it is a place where I always wanted to visit, is a challenge,” Park said. “It really makes me deeply think of all the immigrants in America who do not speak English.”
However, having the opportunity of filming scenes around “the city that she loves,” is a positive element of her job, Park said.
She said “Emily in Paris” is written as it is being filmed, giving the actors an opportunity to have a say in the plot and direction of the show.
“They are really responsive,” Park said. “But at the same time, it makes it harder to plan and understand where a character is going.”
Besides having a supporting role in “Emily in Paris,” Park is also a famous theater actress who first debuted in 2014 with Broadway’s “Mamma Mia!”
Over the years, the actress has been nominated for a Grammy for “Best Musical Theater Album” in “King and I” and for a Tony Award for her portrayal of Gretchen Wieners in “MEAN GIRLS” the Musical.
In 2018, Park also portrayed MwE in the Broadway’s “KPOP.” The musical focuses on global superstars struggling and taking action against one of the most important music labels of the industry.
She later obtained a Lucille Lortel Award for the category of “Outstanding Lead Actress in Musical.”
Despite these accolades, Park said she was particularly afraid and worried about being on stage.
“At first I hated being on stage,” Park said. “But I realized that the thing I love most about theater is that the other scene partner is the audience.”
The actress said the audience responds to what happens on stage and that element of the theater is both part of the fun and terror.
“You will never have the same chemistry with the audience except for that specific live show,” Park said.
The actress said acting in person and having the opportunity to see people’s faces are elements that make theater shows different from filming TV or movies.
Park said she will take part in a future (still untitled) movie directed by the Malaysian American director Adele Lim, which will be her first leading actress role with a cast entirely composed of Asian American actors.
On Sept. 14, the next “Spartan Speaker” event will feature Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, an indigenous environmental activist and hip-hop artist.
