As Eidra Park, the unflinching CIA station chief in Netflix’s The Diplomat, Ali Ahn returns this fall to a role that has quietly become one of the series’ most compelling forces. With Season 3 premiering October 16, the show’s global stakes are higher than ever—and so is Park’s influence, as the CIA’s presence grows amid a shifting web of alliances and international tensions. Fresh off her turn in Marvel’s Agatha All Along and previously praised for her work in The Path and Billions, Ahn continues to carve out a career defined by intelligence, precision and quiet intensity, and she’s just getting started.
Where is your head at as you get into Season 3 and what can fans can expect?
"Alice and Jenny go throttle Season 3, so that is really exciting. Obviously, Bradley Whitford is joining us, too. It's a great echo to their previous screen partnership, but in a completely different context. I think the stakes of Season 2 end so dramatically. We really start Season 3 the second after the finale of Season 2. It's pretty fast-paced as soon as the season starts.
I feel like as far as Eidra is concerned, I think there's a real crisis professionally because basically, the big risk she takes Season 2 to help Kate out with this sting, obviously fails to produce the intel that she thought it was going to. They're just in it with suddenly all the security concerns of now the Vice President being the President. It's a lot."
There's always some unknown when you're starting a show, but now you are in Season 3. How does that feel accomplishment-wise?
"It feels pretty nuts to be on a show that is this beloved. It's just so validating because everybody works so hard, and it doesn't always happen that you put in your best effort and audiences respond. I think we all just feel so grateful and lucky to be working on this caliber of a show with this kind of writing.
We all know each other really well now. We know how each other works, so it kind of feels like going back to school. I'm excited to get back."
What does a typical shooting day look like? You're on location, so I'm assuming there are some long days. What does your typical week look like?
"It's definitely very early mornings, which I think every actor has when they're shooting. I do get up pretty early, maybe an hour and a half, even if it's an early call, just because the show is so heavy. There's just so many words to wrap your mouth around, so I can't really be waking up as I get to set. I have to be warmed up and ready to go.
What that usually means is prepping the night before to have everything ready as soon as I wake up in the morning. I usually try to move my body if I have time before I get to set. I have little tips from Keri Russell. Keri loves a fresh celery juice in the morning, so I started doing that, which helps. It's basically I got to get up, move my body, and be awake and wrap my head around what I'm doing before I get to work."
You come from the theater world, as well as a ton of other projects, so I'm sure you know what the cleansers are to take off the day with all the makeup. Is there any skin care you're really liking on set or in general?
"I just got back from shooting in Korea, which is my motherland, but also seems to be the motherland of skincare at the moment. I love Mediheal and Medicube. They've got great PDRN serums and PDRN collagen masks, which are great. There's a new product that I tried called the Reedle Shot from Korea, which is almost like a daily micro-needling serum, which is pretty great. It basically just helps exfoliate your skin like a mini micro-needle to press your face to absorb whatever serums you put on afterwards. It makes my face feel like a baby's bottom, so I'm into that.
I'm big on the red light mask and the microcurrent device. I try to do those regularly just to do what I can to stay ahead of things."
My friend who's really into skin care told me about an hour ago that he just bought a bunch of those Reedle Shot. I'm very sensitive, so I'll let him test it and see how that goes.
"They have gradient, so you can start really low and you can build up!"
I've got to get on that then. Will you have any time to relax this fall now that the show is wrapping production?
"I just finished shooting this indie, so I'll have a little bit of time off. I'm actually from LA, so I'll go home to see my family and see all my friends out there for a couple days. We're gearing up into the new season, so it won't be a ton of downtime, but I am trying to carve out some time to get away. Hopefully, a trip to the woods is in my future."
