Q&A: Lily Collins is ‘Emily in Paris,’ Rome and Barcelona

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

As the star and producer of “Emily in Paris,” she’s been playing the unlucky-in-love marketing executive, breaking hearts (including her own) in France for the past three seasons of the Netflix show.

That changes in part two of the fourth season when, in her usual dramatic fashion, Emily heads to Italy. The cast, including Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Lucas Bravo, Ashley Park and Camille Razat, were all in Rome this week to premiere the new episodes releasing Thursday. Getting away from Paris is something there might be more of in future seasons, as writer and creator Darren Star says he’s happy to take this show on the road.

Although he rules out changing the title.

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

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

Luckily, filming “Emily in Paris” in public places has helped give the actor the boost to become a leading lady on the stage.

“It did give me a bit more confidence, an understanding of performing in front of a large crowd this year,” Collins says. “It just ironically happened to be the year that I would then be doing theater right after.”

In a recent interview with The Associated Press in Rome, Collins explains why it’s the right time for her London stage debut and how filming in Rome allowed her to channel Audrey Hepburn’s on-screen Italian adventure in “Roman Holiday.” It has been edited for brevity and clarity.

COLLINS: Yes. I mean, I love her. There is no ever replicating her, but she is someone that I’ve grown up admiring.

COLLINS: No, I think those were (the) two. “Roman Holiday” — there’s an essence of her the whole time. Because if you’re here — how can you not, you know?

COLLINS: Stunning.

COLLINS: We went around so many times, which was funny because then tourists, of course, are noticing that there’s this massive machine and then a car with a Vespa attached to it. And then we are going on an actual Vespa. But then there’s also the transport vehicle. So like, what are they filming? And then once they figured out it was our show, it was fun.

It was also surreal because you’re going around the Colosseum and everything in Rome is beautiful and ancient. And I was pinching myself, but it was amazing to be able to explore another city. I’d been to Paris before the show, so playing (Emily) who was coming to it fresh, was a character. Whereas this time, I’d been to Rome but never fully explored or been here for a long period of time. So it was a whole new adventure, but genuinely for me as well. And it was more of a vacation mode for Emily, which I was happy for her. I was like, “You go, girl. You get a little vacay.”

COLLINS: I definitely hope so. We’re just, you know, waiting (crosses her fingers). But it would be really nice to explore more of Italy. I think there’s so much here. But I don’t know.

COLLINS: I’m very excited. But of course, I’m also nervous. And it’s a whole new world for me. I did theater as a kid, but this is something I’ve been dreaming of my whole life. And the West End is the West End. But it really feels just surreal and I love my team that we’re working with. I think it’s a beautiful, beautiful script. And the theater is one of a kind, I love the Duke of York (Theatre) and our director (Lynette Linton). It’s a wonderful, wonderful group.

COLLINS: Yes exactly (laughing). All the different cities around Europe.

COLLINS: It’s all about timing as well because ... doing theater is something I’ve always wanted to do. But it is a time commitment that when you’re doing something like “Emily in Paris,” that is also the biggest time commitment. It’s making sure that it fits in at the right time. But it also isn’t just about that. It’s the project. When I read “Barcelona,” I went, “This is it.” And, “How do I make this happen? What time do we have? How do we make it happen with the theater?” You know? So it was a bit of a Tetris-type of thing, but to me it’s a different medium, it’s a different skill set, it’s a different experience.

This season, because “Emily in Paris” is more known, when you’re out and about in the streets, it does become a bit of live theater because you can’t control people watching all the time. And so sometimes there are scenes, when you’re near (Emily’s) apartment building or you’re in Rome or you’re in the mountains skiing, where there’s hundreds of people that just show up to watch. And so it is a bit like theater. You are performing for an audience that weirdly doesn’t know the storyline, though, so it’s a little bit the same and a little bit different. It’s like, “But you won’t see this for a few months, so please don’t spoil it!” Whereas with theater, it’s in the moment.

Actress Lily Collins arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actress Lily Collins arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actresses Ashley Park, left, and Lily Collins arrive at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Lucas Bravo and Camille Razat arrive at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actress Camille Razat arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actor Samuel Arnold arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actor William Abadie arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actor William Abadie poses as he arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

From left, actors Paul Forman, Ashley Park and Lily Collins arrive at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actor Bruno Gouery arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actor William Abadie arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The cast of "Emily in Paris" poses before the premiere in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actress Lily Collins arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The cast of "Emily in Paris" poses before the premiere in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actress Ashley Park arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actress Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actress Lily Collins arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actors Paul Forman, left, and Ashley Park arrive at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actress Lily Collins arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The cast of "Emily in Paris" poses before the premiere in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Actress Lily Collins arrives at the premiere of "Emily in Paris", in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — In Indian-controlled Kashmir, many people boycotted elections for decades in protest against Indian rule. But in the run-up to the local election beginning Wednesday, many are willing to buck that trend and use their vote to deny Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party the power to form a local government in the disputed region.

The vote is the first in a decade, and the first since Modi’s Hindu nationalist government in 2019 scrapped the Muslim-majority region’s special status and downgraded the former state to a federally governed territory. The move — which largely resonated in India and among Modi supporters — was mostly opposed in the region as an assault on its identity and autonomy.

“Boycotts will not work in this election,” said Abdul Rashid, a resident in southern Kashmir’s Shangus village. “There is a desperate need to end the onslaught of changes coming from there (India).”

The election will allow residents to have their own truncated government and a local parliament called an assembly, instead of remaining under New Delhi’s direct rule. The region’s last assembly election was held in 2014, after which Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party for the first time ruled the region in a coalition with the local Peoples Democratic Party.

But the government collapsed in 2018 after BJP withdrew from the coalition. Polls in the past have been marked with violence, boycotts and vote-rigging, even though India called them a victory over separatism.

This time, New Delhi says the polls are ushering in democracy after more than three decades of strife. However, many locals see the vote as an opportunity not only to elect their own representatives but also to register their protest against the 2019 changes.

Polling will be held in three phases. The second and third phases are scheduled for Sept. 25 and Oct. 1. Votes will be counted on Oct. 8, with results expected that day.

Kashmir is divided between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan. Since 1947, the neighbors have fought two wars over its control, after British rule of the subcontinent ended with the creation of the two countries. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety.

In 2019, the Indian-controlled part of the region was divided into two territories, Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir, ruled directly by New Delhi. The region has been on edge since it lost its flag, criminal code, constitution and inherited protections on land and jobs.

Multiple pro-India Kashmiri parties, many of whose leaders were among thousands jailed in 2019, are contesting the election, promising to reverse those changes. Some lower-rung separatist leaders, who in the past dismissed polls as illegitimate exercises under military occupation, are also running for office as independent candidates.

India’s main opposition Congress party, which favors restoration of the region’s statehood, has formed an alliance with the National Conference, the region’s largest party. Modi’s BJP has a strong political base in Hindu-dominated areas of Jammu that largely favor the 2019 changes but is weak in the Kashmir Valley, the heartland of anti-India rebellion.

“Our main concern is governance through local representatives. It will be good for us if the BJP forms the government here as it’s already in power at the center,” said Chuni Lal, a shopkeeper in Jammu city.

The vote will see a limited transition of power from New Delhi to the local assembly, with a chief minister at the top heading a council of ministers. But Kashmir will continue to be a “Union Territory” — a region directly controlled by the federal government — with India’s Parliament remaining its main legislator.

The elected government will have partial control over areas like education, culture and taxation but not over the police. Kashmir’s statehood must be restored for the new government to have powers similar to other states in India. However, it will not have the special powers it enjoyed before the 2019 changes.

Last year, India’s Supreme Court endorsed the government’s 2019 changes but ordered New Delhi to conduct local polls by the end of September and restore Kashmir’s statehood. Modi’s government has promised to restore statehood after the polls but has not specified a timeline.

Elections in Indian-held Kashmir have remained a sensitive issue. Many believe they have been rigged multiple times in favor of local politicians who subsequently became India’s regional enforcers, used to incrementally dilute laws that offered Kashmir a special status and legitimize New Delhi’s militaristic policies.

In the mid-1980s, the region’s dissident political groups emerged as a formidable force against Kashmir’s pro-India political elite but lost the 1987 election widely believed to have been rigged. A public backlash followed, with some young activists taking up arms and demanding a united Kashmir, either under Pakistani rule or independent of both.

India insists the insurgency is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, a charge Islamabad denies. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the fighting, which most Kashmiri Muslims consider a legitimate freedom struggle.

Noor Ahmed Baba, a political scientist, said the outcome of the polls “is not going to change the dynamics of the Kashmir dispute” since it will end with a largely powerless legislature, but will be crucial for optics.

“If local parties win, it is going to put some pressure on the central government and perhaps delegitimize from a democratic perspective what has been done to Kashmir. But a BJP win can allow the party to consolidate and validate 2019 changes in the local legislature,” Baba said.

India’s ruling BJP is not officially aligned with any local party, but many politicians believe it is tacitly supporting some parties and independent candidates who privately agree with its stances.

The National Conference party says Modi’s BJP is trying to manipulate the election through independent candidates. “Their (BJP’s) concerted effort is to divide the vote in Kashmir,” said Tanvir Sadiq, a candidate from the National Conference.

The BJP’s national secretary, meanwhile, says his party’s former ally, the Peoples Democratic Party, and the National Conference are being supported by former militants. Ram Madhav said at a recent rally that they want to return the region to its “trouble-filled days.”

For residents whose civil liberties have been curbed, the election is also a chance to choose representatives they hope will address their main issues.

Many say that while the election won’t solve the dispute over Kashmir, it will give them a rare window to express their frustration with Indian control.

“We need some relief and end of bureaucratic rule here,” said Rafiq Ahmed, a taxi driver in the region’s main city of Srinagar.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party workers attend a rally, ahead of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections in Jammu, India, Saturday Sep.7, 2024.(AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)

Former union minster and star campaigner of BJP Anurag Thakur and state in charge Ram Madhav wave to supporters during a campaign rally, after party candidates filed the nomination papers for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections at Nagrota outskirts of Jammu, India, Thursday, Sep.12, 2024.(AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)

Supporters of India's opposition Congress party, wave during an election rally at Dooru some 78 kilometers (49 miles) south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir,Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, File)

Supporters of Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, attend a public rally at Baramulla, some 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, File)

Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, speaks during a public rally at Baramulla, some 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, File)

Policemen stop supporters of National Conference Party from accompanying their candidate during the filing of nomination papers for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections in Jammu, India, Sept.10, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)

Supporters listen as India's opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, unseen, speaks during an election rally at Dooru some 78 kilometers south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, FILE)

Supporters of India's opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, shout slogans during an election rally at Dooru, some 78 kilometers south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, File)

People watch from a window during a road show of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Arif Laigroo, in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, File)

National Conference (NC) President Farooq Abdullah, center, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti, second right, and other leaders sit during an all parties meeting on restoration of the special status that was stripped last year from Indian-administered Kashmir, in Srinagar, India. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, File)

A child looks on as Indian policemen frisk Kashmiri pedestrians during a surprise security check in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, File)

Indian security forces walk past Indian flags and flags of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a motorcycle rally by BJP youth wing to the Kargil War Memorial passes through Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, July 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, File)

Kashmiris shout slogans during a protest after Friday prayers against the abrogation of article 370, on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019.(AP Photo/ Dar Yasin, File)

A masked protester throws stone at Indian security forces during a protest after Eid prayers in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File)

Kashmiris sit outside closed shops painted with graffiti during a curfew in central Srinagar, India, Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File)