Rewrite and expand this content to 700 words When Bridgerton was first released in 2020, Arséma Thomas wanted so badly to be a part of that world she couldn’t even watch the hit Netflix period romance. “I don’t know what it was, but sometimes when you see something that you want and you see that it’s already come and gone, it’s difficult to sit and enjoy it without thinking of that,” Thomas, 28, tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I think that was what was going through my mind, that this would be the perfect thing, the greatest thing… to see that it came and went and I didn’t hear of an audition, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gutted. I don’t think I can ever watch this.’” When the actress, who at the time was studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, heard there would be a second season of the Shonda Rhimes hit series, she asked her agent to see if there was anything that he could do, but filming had already begun. A week later, however, Thomas’ agent got word of Queen Charlotte and brought it to her. “I was like, ‘This is a sign. Now I have a reason to watch.’” Thomas didn’t know what role she was going out for when her agent sent in her self-tape. But after three auditions and a Zoom call with director Tom Verica — during which she held back coughs and sniffles while recovering from COVID — she was asked to do a chemistry read. “The thing is, when you have a chemistry read, it’s between you and maybe two other people,” she says. “So those two weeks were probably the most painful two weeks ever because you’re so close, you can taste it, but you also have to tell yourself: Don’t get your hopes too high because if anything crashes and burns, which it’s likely to, then you’re not going to get hurt too bad.” Quite the opposite happened when, two weeks later, Thomas found out she landed the role of Lady Agatha Danbury in the Bridgerton prequel. The drama starring India Ria Amarteifio as Queen Charlotte released on Netflix May 4 and sees Adjoa Andoh reprising her role as the elder Lady Danbury and Golda Rosheuvel as the elder queen. The spinoff series became an instant streaming hit, amassing more than 307 million hours viewed to date, according to Netflix’s internal rankings. Success, for Thomas, is about more than potentially record-breaking viewership, though. It’s about setting a precedent for Black women’s stories on screen — and by extension for Black, queer individuals like herself to be seen and accepted in everyday life. “To see the positive response and the excitement and the applause from the Black community and really from everybody to this character and this story, I think is, unfortunately, the stamp of approval that the industry needs to show that these stories should be told. And you will still be successful in telling these stories — and that’s successful in big ass quotes,” she says. “I came into the industry very in denial. Part of me was like: I’m going to be wrong. This isn’t a place for me. Only three Black actresses can really make it, and I’m the fourth. And to see that that’s not the case, to see that there will be more content made, that more stories of ours will be featured so that people will not look at Black people as a monolith, it just gives me hope.” Thomas as young Agatha Danbury in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Nick Wall/Netflix Your character has easily become a fan favorite. What do you think it is about Lady Danbury’s story that resonates so well with audiences? I think there’s something really powerful about what she stands for and the things that she wants unapologetically. Shonda said it so well: This time period is peak women apologizing for everything they want. And to see a woman against that backdrop who goes against that and demands the things that she knows she deserves, is such an empowering thing, especially for Black people and especially for Black women because we tend to be the demographic that is relegated to easily forgotten. When you think of woman, you think of white woman. When you think of Black, you think of Black man and, where does the Black woman fit? And to see her take up space and to see her win in doing that — it’s not a cautionary tale, but rather something that should be galvanizing other Black women to demand the things that they want. And to see her go for the pleasure that she wants, she feels so relatable. She says what we’re all thinking. How much time did you spend with Adjoa Andoh shaping the younger version of your character? You can tell that this is a very different Agatha who is a really big departure from the person that we see in Bridgerton. So, I already knew that I was going to be starting from a different place and Tom Verica, the director, said, “This is your own character, make it your own.” And I was like, “Okay, I don’t know what that means.” So, I asked Adjoa: Hey, do you have just a second to talk to me about all of the moments that she is in Bridgerton? What is she thinking about? I just want to know that because you won’t hear it necessarily. But to just understand why she makes the decisions that she makes. What is her favorite color? What is the nightmare that she had reoccurring as a little girl? All these small things that I think would also just link our two Lady Ds really well. Adjoa also gave me the confidence to make my own decisions and play with her. Because this script was written after season one and two had been filmed, there were also parts of her own backstory that Adjoa was finding out for the very first time. So, it meant that we could come at it from a very level playing field. Adjoa is a revolutionary and an activist in almost every sense of the word herself. And to see her bookshelf, we had a Zoom call and behind her was her library. And it was filled with books on the Black Panthers and the art that they made. The autobiography of Assata Shakur. Multiple books on Angela Davis. And so, to see that we already shared a very similar value system, I then knew, “Okay, we have the same intellectual foundation for Agatha,” and then built from there together. I noticed you have “Backlash Blues-Nina Simone” written in your Instagram bio. What’s the significance? Oh my God, that song, it speaks to my soul in such a palpable way. I was watching Summer of Soul and that moment in the movie when she goes up on stage and sings it, makes me cry. What she’s talking about, the blues really of the backlash, the monotony and the stagnation of what it feels like sometimes to be deep in the fight, there’s something so eerie and so emotional about that song. I love Nina Simone. Her voice is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. Thomas in Queen Charlotte. Nick Wall/Netflix In one of your IG posts, you also thanked Golda Rosheuvel “for being you and giving me the confidence to be me.” How did your relationship develop in that way? We weren’t actually that close while filming just because we never filmed anything together. But we went to Cape Town to promote the show and my mother was there, and it was a beautiful moment of this meeting of so much feminine, powerful energy. We discussed so much about specifically being queer women in spaces, and in not African spaces, but in culturally Black spaces that can sometimes not always accept that and what it means to understand and be fully accepting of our identities. And it was beautiful. She’s one of the greatest human beings. I see her walk and behave with such kindness, but still rooted in her Golda-ness. She looks everybody in the eye and asks them how they’re doing. And that’s something that a lot of people don’t do. So, to see her be kind and talented and unapologetic and still be winning —so many people say, “Don’t…
Wouldn’t Let Robin Williams Appear in SNL’s “Church Chat” – The Hollywood Reporter
Dana Carvey, the comedian known for his iconic characters on Saturday Night Live (SNL), recently revealed why he chose not...
