Bridgerton Star Reveals They Auditioned for a Major Stranger Things Role

By Jamie Jirak

The second season of Bridgerton is now streaming on Netflix, and many stars have already been confirmed to return for the show's third season. While some of the show's cast members rose to fame thanks to the Regency-era drama, others are also known for other series. Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope Featherington on Bridgerton, is also known for playing Clare Devlin on Derry Girls. The 35-year-old actor has had some major success playing teens, in fact, she auditioned for Stranger Things. During a recent interview with Buzzfeed, Coughlan revealed she was up for the role of Robin, which ultimately went to Maya Hawke. 

"I auditioned for Stranger Things a number of years ago," Coughlan shared. "I auditioned to play Robin, Maya Hawke got it ... She was far better than I ever would have been." She added, "It's a good lesson to actors: Watch the stuff you didn't get, because you'll totally understand how it's not personal ... You're just right for some things, and you're not right for other things." 

Last year, Hawke teased that the long wait for Season 4 of Stranger Things would be worth it.

"I'm not allowed to tell you when we finish filming, but I can tell you that, though it's been forever, because we've had so much time, the level of effort, interest, and detail that the Duffer brothers have had the time to put into these scripts, and that the actors have had the time to think about their characters, it is gonna be awesome," Hawke shared with Collider. "And I'm so proud of the work that everyone is doing and I can't wait for people to see this season. It's been a long wait, but I think it will be worth it."

The upcoming fourth season will be split into two parts and followed by a fifth and final season, ending the journey that made so many young actors famous. Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler) recently spoke with W Magazine and gave some hints about the show, teasing a "darker" season. " It's bigger, it's darker, and it's gonna be great," she shared.

As for Bridgerton, Shonda Rhimes previously told Vanity Fair that she underestimated the effect of releasing all of the Bridgerton episodes at once. With that quick premiere, the entire world fell in love with her leading man, played by Regé-Jean Page. Then, fans were disappointed when they learned Page would not be returning even though his exit followed the books.

"I don't think I fully expected or understood what releasing all eight episodes around the globe at once was going to do," Rhimes explained. "And yeah, I was like, 'I've killed many a man that people adore.' I'm so surprised that everybody is [losing it over a character we've watched] for eight episodes leaving. But obviously, Regé is an amazing actor and he did an amazing thing and people responded. I also was surprised because the nature of this series is simply, this year it's this couple, this year it's [that] couple."

Bridgerton Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix. Stranger Things Season 4 premieres on May 27th. 

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