Simone Ashley Came to Play and Slay in The Devil Wears Prada 2

Simone Ashley

Photograph by Alex Babsky

Simone Ashley confesses that The Devil Wears Prada 2 is responsible for the “most fun moments” she’s had in her career to date.

It’s not totally surprising, as anyone would likely pinch themselves to co-star alongside Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated actors in a sequel to such a beloved film. And the 31-year-old actress for sure was, especially with all the time she spent with Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly’s new first assistant. “It was kind of a bit of a masterclass really,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Ashley previously achieved global recognition with her beloved character Kate in Netflix’s Bridgerton, but she’s now ready for audiences to see how she made her role as Amari in The Devil Wears Prada 2 her own, despite being labeled as the “new Emily.”

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“Emily (Emily Blunt), in the original movie, the comedy comes from a place of this ball of anxiety,” she explains. “But Amari is kind of the opposite. She’s very confident, very grounded. … And the way she holds herself is quite regal and poised. So that was just really fun to play with. And it was fun for the comedy to come out of that place, that sassiness, that chicness.”

Below, Ashley opens up about joining such an iconic cast for the sequel, bringing Amari to life on screen, her favorite cameo in the film, as well as her dream project, if she plans to return to Bridgerton and whether she’s open to returning for an F1: The Movie sequel, despite her role being cut from the first film.

Going back to the beginning, what made you first want to pursue a career as an actor?

Funnily enough, I actually started singing when I was 7 years old. I did a lot of classical singing and piano playing, a lot of that kind of training. And I wanted to pursue music initially. Then I started doing more musical theater, quickly realized that I maybe didn’t want that as a priority in my career. And then I fell in love with film and TV when I was a teenager. And then I just put myself out there and I got Sex Education. And after that, Bridgerton, and then the ball just kept rolling, and I like to work with what I’ve got. So that was kind of the journey.

But I’ve just always been really passionate about storytelling in all forms of medium. And I just felt, in the least cheesiest way of putting this, that’s what my purpose was. And it’s something that I loved so deeply that it gave me a purpose for like, OK, this is how I want to live my life and this is what I want to do.

You share the screen quite a bit with Meryl Streep, playing her new first assistant. What was it like working so closely with the icon herself? Did you learn anything?

I learned so much every single day. It was kind of a bit of a masterclass really. It was an absolute honor to be working with her. And I can obviously comment on her artistry and just how magnificent she is at her work and watching her portray Miranda again in person and learning how she holds herself on set, the choices she makes, the attention to detail she has and the character. One thing I definitely picked up on was just the way she works with her costume. And given the kind of movie this is, it’s a movie about fashion and we’re in the world, this hyper-real world of fashion at Runway. I was really inspired by that and it was something that I actually used for my character a little bit. But I think the biggest takeaway for me was she’s an incredibly kind person and she made me feel really comfortable and everyone really excited to be doing this movie. And that’s the most important thing. She’s just a really wonderful kind of person.

Meryl Streep, Simone Ashley and Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada 2.

YouTube/20th Century Studios

Amari is essentially what Emily Blunt’s character was in the first film. Did you feel any pressure stepping into those shoes?

Initially, I think so, but Aline [Brosh McKenna], our magnificent writer, and David [Frankel] made it really clear that this isn’t a remix of the first movie. They thought it was stronger, actually, if I made my own choice. And they wanted something fresh and new and something that was kind of a microphone for the younger generation. So Aline and I spoke a lot about the differences in the two Emily’s. And Emily, in the original movie, the comedy comes from a place of this ball of anxiety. She really, really wanted to go to Paris Fashion Week. She really wanted to do all these things, and that’s where the comedy came from. But Amari is kind of the opposite. She’s very confident, very gro