Bridgerton star Yerin Ha: 'Fame scares me. I don’t want to get swept up by it'

Yerin Ha is poised to become one of the most talked about people in the world. As the new star of Bridgerton, one of the biggest Netflix shows ever made, her face will be on tens of millions of screens all over the world when the long-awaited fourth season is released.

Bridgerton was watched by 82 million households in the first 28 days of its launch in 2020, catapulting it to international acclaim. The third season, released in 2024, was its most successful with the first four episodes reaching 45.1 million views in its opening weekend.

“I’m quite overwhelmed,” Ha admits. “Luckily, my brain space is being taken up by the theatre show I’m doing right now [The Maids at the Donmar Warehouse]. I think, otherwise, I might have a little bit of a panic attack. But I’m excited for the world to see it. It is a bit scary, because you just never know how it’s going to be received. I hope people like it.”

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The Australian actor plays Sophie, a maid and love interest of the second eldest Bridgerton brother, Benedict. It is a classic Cinderella story, with the pair meeting at a masquerade ball from which Sophie flees at midnight, and it follows the well-trodden path of previous series with its colourful costumes, glittering sets and moments of steamy romance.

“Bridgerton has been such a global hit show. There’s something unique to this experience. It has that fan base and love and hardcore fans, which is lovely. But people tell me: ‘Your life’s gonna change.’ I don’t believe that, but there is an aspect of: ‘Is there something about the way that I have to live my life that might alter?’ I’m scared of change but also welcoming it and trying to let it be.”

Previous stars – including Phoebe Dynevor, Jonathan Bailey, Simone Ashley, Regé-Jean Page and Nicola Coughlan – have been met with global fame and success in Hollywood.

Is she nervous about fame? “It’s funny, because when you think about pursuing acting, for me, it’s always been about the craft. The fame aspect is almost like a byproduct. The reason I fell in love with acting was to experience different lives that are outside of mine, but also bringing my experiences to it. Fame kind of scares me, and I always just want to feel grounded and not get swept up by it.”

Ha pursued acting as a teenager, leaving Sydney for arts school in South Korea before returning to study at Sydney’s National Institute of Dramatic Art. Her grandmother is South Korean actor Son Sook and her parents met at drama school. She is perhaps best known, prior to Bridgerton, for her starring role in the Steven Spielberg-produced television adaptation of the video game Halo, which premiered on Paramount+ in 2022.

Ha says she never imagined she would have the opportunity to play a character like Sophie in a Regency drama like Bridgerton. Shonda Rhimes’ series has consistently championed representation through diverse casting, with people of colour playing dukes and queens. 

Bridgerton presents a world where racism no longer exists, hailed for bringing diversity to typically very white period dramas and securing it a place in television history.

In Julia Quinn’s books, Sophie’s surname is Beckett, but this has been changed to Baek in the TV series to reflect Ha’s South Korean heritage. Speaking about what this representation means, Ha says: “It’s beautiful. What I think is so nice about playing Sophie is that it’s not a South Korean show. Sophie is just Sophie.

“It is just about the human experience and what it means to want to be loved and feel deserving of love and, and it’s just nice to play a part where I don’t have to explain myself, or feel like I’m being cast because of this one cultural line that they reference. 

“It is about Benedict wanting to find someone and settle down. And because of Sophie, we’ve also been able to bring a whole family of Asian actresses. It is a breath of fresh air for me.”

Sophie is a maid working for her stepmother Lady Amarinta Gun, played by Katie Leung, who has been vocal about the importance of authentic Asian representation since she played Cho Chang in the Harry Potter series. Leung has expressed frustration that, for many years, she was offered roles which fell into stereotypes of a Chinese character.

Bridgerton is a step away from that. “I think TV has changed in a lot of ways. I do think it stems from the high seats of power, and it trickles down in the way a project is run, and how it’s cared for, and how people care for their actors,” Ha says.

“It is about mental health and wellbeing and feeling good in who you are as a person. I think it’s changed, and hopefully it will continue to change in the future and keep progressing, and we can continue to tell stories that express all walks of life.”

When Ha was growing up in Australia, Cinderella was her favourite princess, but she says she never imagined playing the role in a Western TV show.

“I think that’s a little bit sad in a way, only thinking that I could only ever dream of going so far, and thinking that I was always going to just be as good as a supporting actor or the supporting friend. You should dream for more than you think that you deserve.

“It is really surreal, and it does make me quite emotional to think that past me only ever thought about going so far, but now I feel like the sky’s the limit and it’s OK to dream big and put that out into the universe and know that it can happen.”

This is a theme which runs through the fourth season of Bridgerton. Sophie dreams of a world beyond domestic servitude, while the maids of the town rally together and demand better pay. 

“As they should!” Ha laughs when asked about the maids of Bridgerton fighting for their rights. “It’s about knowing your worth. Sometimes people tell you: ‘For your services, this is how much we think you are owed.’ It’s about knowing you are unique, and it’s OK to demand more for yourself.”

Ha says that if she had to recognise a person making a difference in the world now, the person who comes to mind is newly elected mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani. The city’s first Muslim and Asian-American mayor, he is known for his progressive policies and calls himself a democratic socialist, focused on improving life for the working class.

In an era of Donald Trump and rising right-wing rhetoric, Mamdani offers a different vision.

Bridgerton offers a different vision too: a fantasy world of sparkles and kindness. And that might just be the magic which has led to its global success. “I think it’s in human DNA that we all crave and desire to be seen and to feel connected and to be recognised for who you are on the inside,” Ha says. “That’s especially in this season with the class struggle.

“It is beautiful to be reminded that we are all the same at the core. There’s representation, humour, wit, heartbreak, and it portrays life in an accessible way that’s not too intelligent, but grounded in this weird reality with beautiful costumes and sets and a little bit of fantasy.”

Sophie finds joy in moments which go unappreciated by those around her, like the twinkles of the ornate chandelier in a ballroom. “She appreciates the little details that go unnoticed. It is about seeing things that people overlook,” Ha says.

The 27-year-old actor hopes that the little joys in life will keep her grounded when she is catapulted into fame – her morning cup of coffee, calls with her mum and friends, watching the sunrise and going out in nature. Recently, the Wicked press tour and Olivia Dean’s album The Art of Loving have brought her immense joy.

Ha will keep Sophie in mind moving forward. “She leads with kindness no matter how harsh the world is.”

“We should be kinder to each other,” she adds. “All humans have the right to exist, and we should have humanity for each other, because that, at the end of the day, is how we’re going to be connected. I think we’ve lost a little bit of that in our lives.”

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