Australian actor Yerin Ha lands lead role in next Bridgerton season
Australian actor Yerin Ha’s life is about to change in a big way.
According to Variety sources, Ha has landed the lead role in the next season of Bridgerton. She is to play Sophie Beckett, the love interest to Benedict Bridgerton, played by Luke Thompson.
Netflix confirmed last month the fourth season will centre on the second oldest Bridgerton brother, drawn from Julia Quinn’s book, An Offer From a Gentleman.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.As depicted in the book, the character’s story is inspired by Cinderella. She meets Benedict at Violet Bridgerton’s ball in a borrowed gown and finery, and catches the bachelor’s eye as the mysterious “Lady in Silver”.
The most recent season of Bridgerton wrapped in June and Netflix has not confirmed when to expect the next instalment. It was an almost two-year wait between seasons two and three.
To international audiences, the Sydney-born Ha is best known for her lead role in the TV adaptation of the Halo video game, which was produced by Steven Spielberg’s production company Amblin. The Paramount+ series was recently cancelled after two seasons.
Locally, Ha was one of the main characters in Stan series Bad Behaviour, on which she played a student who was viciously bullied at a private school’s wilderness camp.
She has also appeared in the horror film Sissy alongside Aisha Dee and in the first season of ABC drama Troppo.
On stage, she was in the ensemble cast of the Sydney Theatre Company’s 2019 production of Lord of the Flies, which also starred Mia Wasikowska and Eliza Scanlen.
She went to a performing arts high school in South Korea before returning to Australia to study and graduate from NIDA.
The TV version of Bridgerton has been praised for its diverse casting and has platformed actors from non-white backgrounds in lead roles including Rege-Jean Page, Simone Ashley, Adjoa Andoh and Golda Rosheuvel.
However, the finale of season three was hit with furore from some segments of the Bridgerton fan community which objected to the TV show’s choice to gender-swap a character who will have a bigger role in upcoming storylines.
The book character of Michael, a white man, was changed to be Michaela, a black LGBTQI woman.
Quinn had to publicly intervene, posting on social media, “Anyone who has seen an interview with me from the past four years knows that I am deeply committed to the Bridgerton world becoming more diverse and inclusive as the stories move from book to screen.”
