diff --git a/tools/dockerfile/grpc_interop_python/build_interop.sh b/tools/dockerfile/grpc_interop_python/build_interop.sh
index 6454a4f5e25..f29c59da8e8 100755
--- a/tools/dockerfile/grpc_interop_python/build_interop.sh
+++ b/tools/dockerfile/grpc_interop_python/build_interop.sh
@@ -39,8 +39,4 @@ cp -r /var/local/jenkins/service_account $HOME || true
 
 cd /var/local/git/grpc
 
-make
-
-# build Python interop client and server
-CONFIG=opt ./tools/run_tests/build_python.sh
-
+tools/run_tests/run_tests.py -l python -c opt --build_only