Fan-Favorite Bridgerton Star Initially Auditioned for a Different Role
After over a year's wait since the first season, Netflix is finally releasing more Bridgerton this month. The Regency-era drama, which scored 12 Emmy nominations last year, will see the return of many fan-favorites with the exception of Regé-Jean Page (Simon Basset), who was only signed on for one season. One star who will be returning to the series is Golda Rosheuvel, who plays Queen Charlotte. During a recent interview with The Guardian, it was revealed that Rosheuvel originally auditioned to play the Queen's confidante, Lady Danbury, who is played by Adjoa Andoh. After losing out on the role, Rosheuvel was asked to audition again just before she was about to go on a trip.
"I only really had an afternoon to do it in. But I said to my agent, 'l'll have a go,'" Rosheuvel shared. She explained that she put some scenes on a tape with the help of her partner, playwright Shireen Mula, and forgot about it before her agent revealed a few days later that the director had liked the tape and sent it to producer, Shonda Rhimes.
"There was a part of me that didn't quite believe it, because I never think that anybody's going to like what I do. But also part of me was jaw-droppingly excited," Rosheuvel says.
"There was this idea of 'what if?'," Rosheuvel added. "What if Queen Charlotte is a person of colour? What does that do to the world that we are trying to create? Chris Van Dusen calls it 'conscious casting,' not colourblind casting, because we are consciously creating this world. And, in doing it, the representation that we see in our own world is reflected back at us. It enables us to celebrate the kings and queens of this industry, who are people of colour, through the characters that we create in this fictitious world."
In another interview with Vanity Fair, Rhimes said that she underestimated the effect of releasing all the of the Bridgerton episodes at once. With that quick premiere, the entire world fell in love with her leading man. Then, fans were disappointed when they learned Page would not be returning despite the fact that 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 returns on March 25th.