It’s not easy playing the sometimes lover of the romantic lead and the new best friend of his potential love interest but Zoe Chao does it with style. Starring in Your Place or Mine on Netflix, Chao has made a name for herself throughout the last year as a comedy powerhouse and her performance as Minka in the new Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon movie is another hit.
Minka is the on and off hook-up of Peter (Kutcher) so when she comes to his home in barely any clothes to find Debbie (Witherspoon) staying there, the two become unlikely friends. And it is through Minka that Debbie not only has a great experience in New York but that she starts to figure her life out. And getting to talk with Zoe Chao about the role, it’s clear she had a blast being a part of the movie.
I asked about the joy of playing the character and what was the most fun and Chao said she aspires to have that confidence that Minka possesses. “It was such a joy to play Minka because in a lot of ways, I aspire to her confidence and her zero Fs given attitude. She gives herself permission all of the time. And I’m really not like that as Zoe, but I think there are moments where I’m like, okay, let’s channel some Minka.”
Minka and Debbie
Even though Minka is technically Peter’s friend, we never see them together and for Chao, that was one of the things she liked about the movie. “One of the things that’s so sweet about this movie is there’s this really unexpected friendship between Debbie and Minka,” she said. “They’re opposites and I think they both really give each other something that the other needs at that time. And I love that. I never even met Ashton. I mean, that’s not true. I did meet Ashton one day in a hair makeup trailer, so I was about to blatantly lie, but we never had a scene together. And I think that’s kind of great because while Minka shows up at his apartment to sort of reignite a flame, this flame they had, I think ultimately she was just a little bored. And what she found instead was way better than what she had had with Peter.”
We also spoke with writer and director Aline Brosh McKenna. You can see our interview here:
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You can watch Your Place or Mine on Netflix now!
(Featured image: Netflix)
