Meet the Newest ‘Bridgerton’ Star Yerin Ha

“Bridgerton” Season 4 introduces the fandom of the Netflix regency drama to the infamous Sophie, Benedict’s lady in silver with whom he shares a romantic moment at his mother’s masquerade ball. 

Their instant connection at the ball, depicted in the Season 4 premiere, kicks off a Cinderella story as told in Julia Quinn’s “An Offer from a Gentleman,” which sees Sophie fleeing from the ball back to her post as a maid by the strike of midnight while Benedict searches for his mystery woman.

Sophie’s position as a maid, enforced by her evil stepmother and illegitimate birth, also opens up the upstairs-downstairs aspect of society that hasn’t yet been explored in such depth on “Bridgerton.” Per Netflix, “Sophie Baek has been forced to spend much of her life working as a maid for the most demanding employer in the ton. But the resourceful Sophie always finds a way to persevere through her circumstances — which will drastically change after she disguises herself to attend Violet Bridgerton’s masquerade ball and meets Benedict Bridgerton.”

Unlike Season 3, which saw familiar face Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) have a friends-to-lovers arc with Colin (Luke Newton), Season 4 introduces newcomer Yerin Ha, an Australian actress of Korean descent, as Sophie, the romantic interest for Luke Thompson’s Benedict. 

Here’s everything we know about Ha.

What’s Ha been in?

The Australian actress has been involved in several genre-focused series, including HBO’s “Dune: Prophecy,” in which she plays young Kasha Jinjo, and Paramount+’s “Halo,” in which she plays Mia. She can also be seen in Netflix’s “The Survivors,” ABC’s “Reef Break,” as well as Australian TV series “Bad Behaviour” and “Troppo” and Australian movie “Sissy.”

She was also in the Sydney Theatre Company’s “Lord of the Flies.”

How did Ha get the role?

Showrunner Jess Brownell told TheWrap they saw “hundreds” of audition tapes for Sophie, but were immediately struck by Ha’s “youthful vitality,” which she thought would be a point of attraction for Benedict, as well her old soul quality.

“This character is a tricky one to play, because for her survival, she has to be quite subservient, and she has to be someone who goes along with what she’s ordered to do, but you have to know in her eyes that she has a strength and that she has other things going on,” Brownell said. “It also felt like we needed an actor who has a real old soul and real depth to go opposite Benedict, because Benedict has done and seen everything, and you needed someone who could really challenge him.”

How did the role change with Ha’s ethnicity?

While Sophie is written as white in Julia Quinn’s novels, the “Bridgerton” team knew they wanted to cast a lead with an East Asian identity in an effort to fill a representation gap on the show. After Ha was cast, Brownell said she spoke with the new leading lady to alter Sophie’s last name from the original last name in the book, Beckett, to something that better represented her cultural background, first asking she had any names of friends or family she wanted to honor (she didn’t). They ultimately landed on Baek as the most natural adaptation of the name.

Will Ha’s Sophie be in future seasons?

While it has yet to be confirmed whether or not Sophie will appear alongside Benedict in future seasons, it’s typical for past leads to appear in at least the season or two after they’ve been featured. 

“Bridgerton” Season 4 Part 1 premieres Thursday on Netflix.

The post Meet the Newest ‘Bridgerton’ Star Yerin Ha appeared first on TheWrap.