When you need a cool head in a hot situation on “The Diplomat,” you usually call Eidra Park. But on Season 3 of Debora Cahn’s Netflix spy thriller, fallout from a terror attack made Ali Ahn’s sardonic, Ï‹ber-competent CIA station chief question her job security—and herself.
What was it like to play Eidra in a state of self-doubt?
It’s always interesting to see a character who is out of her depth, and what they do in that moment. Obviously, you’re guided by the writing. She actually doesn’t know what to do, and I think the absence of doing is part of how you see how messed up she is. Some of it was in the physical vocabulary, like when she’s in her office and she’s not working. There’s no real work to do, because she’s about to get fired. Seeing Eidra actually at rest is a contrast.
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She really doesn’t know what to do. She’s never been in a position where she doesn’t have an answer. I think actually to do even less was how I approached it.
What’s the secret to acting like you’re an expert on geopolitics?
I have to know those lines cold. As much as time permits, I read the script over and over and over again. Especially for Eidra—she can’t be reaching for the words. I have to know that stuff backwards and forwards, so that I can let the jargony stuff fly really casually.
What’s one of the best acting lessons you’ve ever learned?
This is two parts. One is actually about auditioning. I assume I’m not going to get the job. There was a big shift when I started doing that. When you assume you’re not gonna get the job, which most of the time you aren’t, it actually frees you to do the version that you want to do, as opposed to the version you think that they want you to do.
That’s related to the second thing. So much of acting is actually receiving what the other person is giving you. That can be tricky, obviously, if you don’t have great scene partners. For me, if I’m really paying attention to what the other person is doing, it also frees me from overthinking too much or controlling what my side of it is. Both things are related to putting yourself in a space to be free and not be so calculated.
Who gave one of your favorite 2025 screen performances?
Jen Tullock as Devon Scout-Hale in “Severance.” It’s a smaller part, but I feel like every time I see her onscreen, she’s so grounded. Maybe I feel an affinity to that role because I’ve had to do a lot of those kinds of parts, where you come in as a secondary contextual character. You’re fleshing out the world, and you have very little real estate. I think she’s doing such a beautiful job of feeling completely formed, like she has a full life off-camera.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.