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Shay Mitchellhas come a long way since her run as Emily Fields onPretty Little Liars, but the actress still looks back fondly on the character and her impact on LGBTQ audiences.
“That is whyPretty Little Liarswill always have the most special place in my heart,” Mitchell, 34, recently told PEOPLE of the Freeform thriller show.
The actress starred alongsideLucy Hale,Ashley Benson,Troian BellisarioandSasha Pieterseon the series for its seven-season run, from 2010 to 2017. Mitchell’s Emily stole LGBTQ viewers' hearts early on, thanks to her onscreen romance with new girl Maya (Bianca Lawson) and her coming out in season 1.
“I think these shows have such a huge impact, but especially ones that have characters like Emily, that have opened up that conversation for so many different people,” Mitchell reflected. “And it’s like, how can I not ever want to speak about that? I think for me, it’s one of the best characters that I may ever play because of the [impact] she had on so many different people. So I’m very fortunate I was able to be the one to bring Emily to life.”
Mitchell herself has avoided labeling her sexuality, but she has said that she finds people attractive regardless of their gender. “For me, it’s never been, ‘I need to find a boyfriend, I need to find this,'” she said in aYouTube videolast December. “I truly feel like I do fall in love with a person.”
TheDollfaceactress previously addressed questions about her sexuality in a 2017 interview withMaxim. “Look, Emily doesn’t label herself, and I don’t label myself either,” Mitchell said at the time. “I fall in love with the spirit of somebody. Love is love, and that’s something that I’ll keep saying.”
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Mitchell took on another LGBTQ role when she played the literary socialite Peach Salinger on season 1 ofYouin 2018. The character was in love with her best friend Beck, who was already the object of someone else’s deadly desire.
“I had the most fun playing Peach. That whole ensemble of amazing actors and people that they put together on that show, I will never not speak highly about, because it was one of the best experiences,” Mitchell told PEOPLE. “I can’t say enough good things aboutPenn Badgley, he’s incredible as a person, but also just such a great actor, and has brought that show to life. So I’m really excited, as everybody else is, to seeseason 3.”
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And although Peach met an unfortunate end, season 2 of the hit Netflix series made it clear that dead characters don’t always stay dead. “I will always come back to that show just because it was such an incredible experience,” Mitchell said. “But no plans yet.”
“I think that’s what I have such an interest in, trying new things and getting to kind of put my foot into somebody else’s shoes and see what it’s like,” she said. “Being a producer on this show and not being in it, it’s just seeing things from a completely different lens, of course.”
source: people.com
