Simone Ashley 'learned so much' from her Devil Wears Prada 2 co-star

Simone Ashley "learned so much" from working with Meryl Streep on The Devil Wears Prada 2.

The 31-year-old actress stars alongside Meryl, 76, on The Devil Wears Prada 2, the long-awaited sequel to the original Devil Wears Prada film, and Simone admits that she relished the experience of working with the iconic movie star.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Simone reflected: "I learned so much every single day. It was kind of a bit of a masterclass, really.

"It was an absolute honour 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."

Simone - who plays the part of Amari Mari, Miranda's current first assistant, in The Devil Wears Prada 2 - picked up some particular skills from working with Meryl.

The actress - who is best known for starring in Bridgerton, the Netflix period drama - also hailed Meryl as "a really wonderful kind of person".

She said: "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."

Simone's on-screen character has strong similarities to Emily Blunt's character in the first movie.

The actress felt a weight of pressure while shooting the new film, but she also wanted to bring her own approach to the role.

Simone explained: "I spoke a lot about the differences in the two Emilys. 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 grounded. She has a confidence that comes from silence. It doesn’t have to be a loud confidence. She’s incredibly professional, really elegant and chic. 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."