To Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu,Emily in Parisisnt just a guilty pleasure.
But its likeSex and the City.
The freedom that women have now is bittersweet, she says.
Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu in Schiaparelli Haute Couture at theEmily in ParisSeason 4 premiere in Los Angeles.
Its like, okay, fun, but what about depth and love?
It was a French-American production, and it was quite big, she says.
It was with Stacy Keach, Stefanie Powers, Lee Remick, and that crowd.
Photo: Sarah Krick. Photo assistant: Maggie Overbaugh. Stylist: Clément Lomellini. Stylist assistant: Ciro Marangi. Hair, Owen Gould; makeup, Fred Marin.
We filmed in the South of France.
That was also the last time she starred in an English-language series.
So, what convinced her to take onEmily in Paris?
Leroy-Beaulieu as Sylvie Grateau in season four ofEmily in Paris.
Well, Darren [Star], obviously, she says.
I like good storytellers.
And she was enamored with Sylvie.
I knew that there was something about Sylvie that I could work with, she adds.
The character had a toughness that reminded her of Bette Davis, an actress shed long admired.
I think I was obsessive with her when I started working onEmily.
But Sylvie also felt familiar in other ways.
(Leroy-Beaulieus father, Philippe Leroy, was a prodigious French actor.)
She has a lot of compassion for women like that.
Leroy-Beaulieu as Sylvie Grateau in season four ofEmily in Paris.
And, anyway, shes of the opinion that being nice is overrated.
I think good people dont need to be nice, Leroy-Beaulieu says.
Good people are good people, and sometimes they need to be tough.
And for me, its more real than somebody whos always nice.
Somebody whos always nice is not always a good person.
The actor, like Sylvie, is a truth-teller: Shed rather not sugar-coat or lie.
Also like Sylvie, Leroy-Beaulieu has a keen sartorial eyethough shed describe her own sense of style as laid-back.
At the last minute, she decided to actually play Sylvie as she walked.
I was talking on the phone and doing my Sylvie hand, because I didnt know what to do.
In Saint Laurent on the Vogue World: Paris runway.
But four seasons in, Leroy-Beaulieu still struggles to understand why Sylvie became a fan-favorite.
And no, shes not trying to be modest.
I guess theres something about her strength that people like, she ventures.
But she doesnt want to know exactly what.
French women are free, but American girls also just go everywhere.
While she resists going into detail about her characters arc in season four, she does offer a hint.
Well, shes in a bit of a complex fight for a couple [episodes].
Thats all I can say.
(Leroy-Beaulieu, who is co-producing the project, plays Klinks mother.)
And I think we need that kind of story right now, she says.
But Leroy-Beaulieu isnt done with Sylvie just yet.
Because Star thinks big, she has high hopes for whatevers next.
I want surprises, she says.
I want Darren to surprise me.
