Luke, was it a big advantage getting to spend three seasons building your character before stepping into the marriage spotlight — as opposed to what some of your co-stars went through, being in that spotlight much earlier in the show’s run?
LUKE: Well, it is a huge benefit because you get to watch everyone and take notes for three years! But then also, it’s a really fun dynamic to be able to present a very particular side of a character for three seasons — then really diving under that front when he’s placed at the centre of his own love story. It’s a really fun thing to be able to play as an actor, because you get to slightly undercut what you’ve put out before and surprise people. I feel very lucky, timing-wise.
And Yerin, on the other side of this equation, you’re joining this very popular show mid-run. Most of your co-stars have had years to develop their characters. Is that a little intimidating? Were you kind of in the same mindset of your character, Sophie, when we meet her in that carriage on her way to the masquerade ball, where she’s psyching herself up, saying: “I can do this, I can do this . . .?”
YERIN: [Laughs] Yeah, I feel like I had a similar mantra to Sophie in that carriage sequence, actually. But, was it difficult? Obviously you feel a little bit behind because I haven’t had years to be able to explore my character. So, it does feel like a little bit of catch-up, but when you’re in an environment that makes you feel very safe and actually wants you to succeed, everybody is there supporting you, communicating with you . . .
the showrunner, the executive producers, the writers, they’re all there to discuss the scenes and the character with you at any given time. I felt like they put me in an environment where they wanted me to be able to soar . . . Rather than be like, “You’re doing this all on your own,” actually it was a collaborative and very supportive environment. So, not difficult in that sense — more just: “Oh, I wanna play catch-up so I can fit into the Bridgerton world seamlessly.”
The first half of this season is very much Cinderella-inspired. Why was that the right sort of fairytale for Benedict and Sophie’s relationship? For Benedict in particular — who’s always been so aloof and dismissive when it comes to the notion of marriage and the expectations of 1800s English high society — would it maybe take a larger-than-life sort of romance like this to capture his heart?
LUKE: The thing that’s great is that obviously it does borrow from Cinderella, but I love how it then uses that pattern to undercut it. Because, actually, Benedict’s flaw is his inability to marry fantasy and reality — and his tendency to section out his life in bite-sized, manageable chunks. That’s a very good way to “manage” one’s life, but it’s not very conducive to actually committing to something, or someone, fully . . . being completely in on something.
So, it’s a really good trope, I think, to use for this character, because it’s not just the fairytale element — it’s the fairytale element and how that comes smashing against pressures of the real world. That’s very appropriate for Benedict’s problem, in a way.
YERIN: And with Sophie, the whole masquerade, clock strikes midnight, “leave the item behind” thing is very similar [to Cinderella]. She does meet her “Prince Charming,” if you wanna call it that. But then, she doesn’t just run away with him when he offers something to her. She actually has quite high moral values and knows her worth, even though she is of lower-class status. So, it does veer away from that fairytale element and does ground it in something more real, later on.
On that note, Sophie has led what would have to be called a “hard-knock life” up to this point — losing her father and being raised by a stepmother who resents her. And after her indiscretion at the ball, things only get more problematic. She’s effectively cast out onto the street. What does she learn about herself in this crucible that she’s forced to endure?
YERIN: I think it’s always about survival for Sophie. It’s nice for her to experience that one night of fantasy, but then she notices she can’t actually have that, because being an illegitimate child back in the 1800s, being a maid — they’re not afforded those privileges. She has been in a constant mode of survival and she does have her walls up. Meeting this person, he does knock them down a little bit, but she’s still working on what it means to self-love and respect herself. That will obviously be more explored in part two [of this season]. But in part one, still it’s very much about survival — and not being able to let people in.
Looking at the series in general, what is Bridgerton’s particular magic? Why has it captured the zeitgeist across the world for all of these years? How does it stand out in the romance genre?
LUKE: It’s a show that’s sort of spinning five different plates at the same time, and I think the fact that it’s a global show as well . . . one of the fun things about this publicity tour is that you see different cultures pick up on different elements. The Brazilian fanbase is attracted to the whole telenovela aspect of it. Later on we’re going to Romania, and Romania’s very famous for its fairytales. And it’s a period drama, which appeals to the English. There are just so many different aspects that all marry into this one very coherent universe, and it is entirely on its own terms. It’s its own thing as a show. It really does just make up its own rules — and it’s sincere in that. That’s what makes it so special.
YERIN: Yeah, and everybody wants love. Everybody craves it. It’s in our DNA, to want connection with someone. That escapism, and also to see themselves onscreen with representation, I think [fans are] able to project themselves into that period drama — and experience it almost together with the characters.
Looking ahead to where we’re headed in these final four episodes of the season, what do Sophie and Benedict need to overcome in themselves to get their “happily ever after?” What personal demons do they need to slay, what personal wounds do they have to overcome before they can find their way to one another in a lasting, meaningful way?
YERIN: Well, for Sophie, it’s the whole upstairs-downstairs, fantasy vs. reality aspect. Being of lower-class status and being told a lie essentially [by her stepmother], she has so much trauma that she has to deal with and she can’t ever dream of more than her station. So, I think being able to let her walls down, and knowing that vulnerability is actually strength, is something that she needs to work on — and through that she might be able to let someone in. And loving herself . . . it takes a village. You need people around you to tell that you are deserving of it. That’s the journey that she will be going on. And Benedict brings that fantasy aspect to her — hopes and dreams that maybe she’s lost since she was a very, very little kid.
LUKE: Vice versa, with Benedict, it’s about getting real. The big question as we go into the second part is, after what happens at the end of episode four — which is maybe not a shining example of him getting real and being attuned and sensitive to things — it’s about staring life in the face and not living in this perpetual deferring of things, deferring of a decision or a commitment.
Bridgerton, streaming on Netflix
MEMORABLE ROLES:
The latest duo to take centre stage in Netflix’s heartstring-plucking, zeitgeist-grabbing romance have, each in their own rights, built up highly impressive résumés. A rising star hailing from the Land Down Under, Yerin Ha has distinguished herself in such series as crime thriller Troppo, video game epic Halo and sci-fi opus Dune: Prophecy. Meanwhile, English thesp Luke Thompson is an Olivier-nominated board-treader who rose to fame for his turn in the West End production of A Little Life. On the big screen, he’s appeared in Second World War blockbuster Dunkirk and dramedic satire Misbehaviour; on the small, you’ve seen him in relationship drama In the Club and quirky spy thriller Transatlantic.
CURRENT GIG:
One of the most explosively popular shows of the past decade, Bridgerton returned for its fourth, bodice-rippin’ season on January 29. As is now the usual for Netflix’s top series, the streamer has divided the eight-part season in half, with the final four episodes debuting this Thursday — concluding the saga of playboy Bridgerton brother Benedict (Luke Thompson) and his Cinderella-esque true love Sophie (Yerin Ha), who began a class-crossed romance after meet-cuting at his family’s masquerade ball.