May 26, 2022 • 37 mins
It’s a wrap party, as Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey return to break down Kate Sharma and Anthony Bridgerton’s enemies to lovers relationship over the course of the season. And Cheryl Dunye, director of Episodes 207 and 208 walks host Gabrielle Collins through filming some of the big Kanthony “pay off” moments, and the mindset behind the scenes that helped elevate the characters throughout.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bridgerton The Official Podcast is a partnership between Shondaland Audio
and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Bridgerton the Official Podcast, your exclusive
peak behind the curtain of Shondaland's Bridgerton series. Before we
meet our guests this week, here's a brief recap of
episode two oh eight, The Viscount Who Loved Me. A
passionate night turns into a terrifying morning as Anthony rushes
(00:23):
to save Kate after her riding accident. Anthony can't bear
to visit her while she recovers, but when she awakens,
Violet Bridgerton urges Anthony not to lose her, and after
a failed proposal, the pair reunite at the Final Ball
in a well deserved season finale. Joining host Gabrielle Collins
this week is Simone Ashley, who plays Kate Charma, Jonathan
Bailey who plays Anthony Bridgerton, and Cheryl Junier, director of
(00:45):
episodes two o seven and two o eight. Hi, Welcome
back to bridgeton the official podcast. Hi, how are you
doing today? Today's the fifteenth of February and I realized
this day last year. It was when it was announced
that I was joining the World of bridgeton Wow kind
(01:05):
of crazy with it in the podcast today, because it's
been a very crazy year. I think me casting for
the role, it all happened within like fourteen days. It
was like blink and I got the role kind of thing.
It was so fast paced, and you know, it was
in the middle of the pandemic. Yeah, and the fact
that it's February fifteenth, like full circle, I know. I
(01:32):
remember I was like, I literally moved into this apartment.
I like moved all my stuff from La here. I
was a bit all over the place and I was
putting my Ikea table together and then the casting announced
was announced, and it was just like like, oh my god, yes,
and now a year later I'm sat talking with you
(01:52):
and we've done it, and wow, so weird. That is
so crazy. I think it was when we wrapped. We
were doing Pressed the next day and me, Johnny and
Adua were outside and we were just about to get
in our cars and we were like, you know, it's
so rare where you put so much work into a
(02:12):
project and you know it's going to just be fantastic
and now we all love it at the same time.
How special is that? And how privileged are we to
be a part of all of this. Honestly, really like
the most special year of my life so far. I'll
never forget it. Yeah, I mean it was incredibly special
being back on set, I think after having had such
(02:34):
thing a wild year as everyone has, you know, because
obviously in the pandemic, but then within that to average
to come out and for it to become what it became,
it felt like no time had passed, but you know,
we'd all experienced these extraordinary things. So yeah, it was
really cathartic. It was brilliant. Obviously knowing that I was
going to step in into the sort of romance narrative
(02:58):
this time around was thrilling and intimidating and you know,
scary and all the right ways. And the best I
could do really on the run up to it was
to get fit because obviously you want to just dive
into the material. And Chris Van Dewson is such a genius,
and I know we got scripts quite late on and
(03:19):
so I'd met Tertra and what's the moone first in
the flesh and we did a chemistry test, so that
was one big piece of the puzzle, and then met
Tertra on a zoom chemistry test and so it was
like seeing all the pieces fall into place was was
really really exciting, and then the scripts came last really,
so yeah, I just had to sort of hold your
(03:40):
nerve in that respect. In terms of prep, it's really
nostalgic for me absolutely to kind of think back on
receiving episodes because we would all have a zoom read
throughs together and you know, reading the scripts. Just yeah,
last year was one of the most special years of
my life. I think it was eleven months of work.
So basically, you know, a whole year of being in
(04:01):
these scripts and in this world and with these amazing
talented casting crew and people. It was just it was
like literally eleven months of Bridgeton. It was just so
consumed in that world, which I loved. I didn't realize
there was that long of a production. Yeah, Like, so
we when I got cast, I literally then went straight
(04:22):
into wake fittings, makeup tests, and horse riding, and then
we were filming accent training rehearsals, and then we wrapped
by end of November. So I loved it. I didn't
want it to end. I think with season two especially,
it was an amazing long term marathon challenge and to
(04:43):
be effectively a member of the crew because you're in
every day was amazing. When I hear you talk about
the prep and the work that you did put into it,
I helped listeners realize you're not just showing up and
being gorgeous. No, which yes, but like it's so much
work you guys are doing that. It was so much work.
(05:06):
But you know what, The scripts were written so beautifully.
Chris Van Jason is such a wonderful soul, such a
gentle character but also so smart, and he knew what
he wanted with this story. So to work with him
and with such beautiful writing, To have such amazing chemistry
with Johnny and for him to be leading this show
(05:28):
and being such a wonderful human he is, and everything
put together, it didn't feel like work. We all wanted
to create this fabulous love story. What was your experience
like working with with Cheryl? I loved working with Cheryl.
I think she's got a really good heart, and I
think that really it really bleeds into her work and
(05:49):
just how she is on set and how she works
working with her. Similar with Johnny, like we didn't have
to have like loads of lengthy conversations. It was quite unspoken,
like she would just kind of say a few things
and would get it. Simon was so great, charming, she's lovely,
she's just you know everything. So it was like, oh
my god, you know, I love you and all the
(06:11):
work that you do like a seal one of my
favorite shows. And look, he's just gorgeous. She was just
she was just the most charming, you know, wonderful person
who listened, who was on point, who you know, showed up,
who expressed herself, who took direction. Was Jeffrey Like Jeffrey Jerr, Like,
(06:34):
what role does he play in? Yeah, jeff Jure, he's
my side. You know. He was like the most gentle guy.
All right. I mean you think that somebody who kind
of creates a look for a show, who's dedicated to show,
who shot the whole books show or the whole season,
is gonna be like tired and like all right, girl,
(06:54):
I'm out. But were he was like, let's meet all
the weekend and talk about this. He was just he
was like a kid. He felt we were both like kids,
and we both he stood at the wheels, meaning there
are these wheels where he can kind of work the
camera in the room. While some dps actually sit down
and other people do stuff. Jeff was working all the time.
(07:17):
I mean, he was more than dedicated. Um and just
went I don't I don't know where he got his
his energy because he was on way before me. And
you know, I was tired. But he was I mean again,
wanting to meet on weekends because we didn't get enough
time to talk about this or that, wanting to come
up with shot like the shot lits, wanting to come
up with you know, the blocking, wanting to you know,
(07:39):
make sure I get the overhead shot, wanting to help
me do this sequence of you know, just everything. He
gave it his all on his his cart where he
stood and ran these wheels to to work with camera.
He had a little espresso machine and he would always
go here, charl you want an espresso. Oh my god,
(08:00):
this is as good as it get Here you go
Before I even said it. Sometimes here you go. And
I was just like, he is taking care of me.
You know, he's helping me get my looks. He's helping
me create the look I want for the show. He's
adding new ideas, he's saying this and that, and then
he's offering me a espresso. I was like, Okay, I
don't want to leave. I didn't want to leave. It
(08:21):
was like, I don't believe it's over. Please invite me back,
Please invite me back. I love I love Briton. I
just do. We'll be back after the break with a
deep dive into the full arc of Kayton Anthony's love
story Welcome Back. There's something about the way it all
(08:45):
comes to a head in the last two episodes, but
there's also a lot of finally happening in episodes two
o seven and two oh eight. So what happens in
every episode? And I think Johnny and I both knew
like where it was going to go and what was
the difference. Obviously from reading the books and discussions with Chris,
(09:05):
we could kind of get a sense of where things
were going and what was going to happen. But yeah,
I think we were so engrossed in each block in
each episode anyway. But I remember getting episode seven to
eight and being like, no way, like this is this happened.
He's letting go of being the viscount, or at least
trying to. He's gidding with Edwina's older sister like there's
(09:26):
a whole lot that's happening within Anthony when it comes
to the family duty versus the love, and it's so
aunt I think we there's so much tension between them,
and you really follow their character's journeys and everything that
they go through that when it does happen, it's such fireworks.
Working with Jonathan Bailey as Anthony, did you both have
(09:49):
a lot of conversations about what was going on inside
Anthony's head as he was making like these final decisions. Yeah, Yeah,
My conversations with Jona than Balley were just amazing. I mean,
he's a wonderful talented actor theater, you know, bridget In.
I mean he goes, you know, beyond what he is
in this character, and I think he uses all his
(10:10):
parts in this I think the biggest issue which runs
through the season is his relationship with his father, what
happened many many years ago, and if he could recover
from that to move on and live his life. And
I think that undercurrent was something that he really wanted
people to feel. You know, what do you do with
all that pent up energy that where you where you
(10:31):
build over a scar and you never look into it,
you know, you walk with a heavy heart and a
dark heart, and you can't heal and the self internal
healing that that character had to go through to be
wrongable again to show up to you know, four Kate,
to Kate as as a whole being and not as
you know, as anything other than himself, to offer himself
(10:52):
to somebody instead of offer all these notions and all
this baggage that he was carrying. So that was something
that we really kind of drummed through, and once we
hit that, spirit just stepped away and let him go right.
I mean, that's one thing that he I mean, he's
such a talented actor that he you know, I just
could walk away and let him, let him feel that,
and let him bring that to the service and some
(11:14):
of those performances. I must tell you that I was
crying and I would undoubtedly feel the same pain I
felt all over again if I hadn't too, because real,
true love is worth it. Do not lose her, Anthony.
(11:40):
You know, it's such a beautiful scene where he is
sitting there listening to his mother and and just having
this moment with Violet and him, and he just breaks
down and lets it go and he listens instead of
talks again, there's a lot of stuff on the page,
and there's a lot of stuff you just have to
let people kind of translate into the performances. And that's
(12:03):
a performance that I would say that he, you know,
just knocked out the wild work. I mean, from from
a memory of it, it felt like the real This
surge of realization comes with violet conversation in episode in
the final episode, so I feel like that was probably
the moment where she just I think she needs to
(12:23):
be told that he's in love. And that's amazing because
it's amazing for so many reasons. One that it's just
such a generous act of and I know that Phoebe
adaptly tries to tell him that and to educate him that,
but you can't hear that because love for him is
the absolute worst case scenario because it brings back all
the trauma. And Benedict has a sense of that but
(12:43):
doesn't really push him that far, just is kindly nudging
him along the side sidelines. But really it's it's Violet
who just says, you know you are this is love
and this is what it is, and you need to
go and fight for her. And if you don't let
this go you know, and so God, it's funny, like
even now I can well up, like well up, I'm
talking about it. I always thought it was just because
I was so tired filming the second series, but because
(13:05):
like you really like, you know, you just get so
much absolutely play. But yeah, and I think it's just
such a generous act. And I think in that moment,
I think he has probably in his head a sort
of Netflix retrospect montage and suddenly everything clicks in a
different way. And I think he pros it. He just
in that moment manages to process so much and to
(13:26):
understand that actually it is love. I think he just
doesn't understand. I just think he really doesn't isn't emotionally,
He doesn't have the vocabulary emotionally because I don't think
he managed to grow in the right way, because losing
his father is such a really really delicate time for
a man in their early twenties or you know, well
eight teens, even where the world sees you as an
(13:46):
adult and you're really really not. Yeah, that was a
beautiful one to see. Somebody was so much, you know,
so much pump and striking seems so much about you know,
you know, whether I account should be and who he
should be, and he become very unclear he'd be unstable,
but his heart was opening, you know, when he really
kind of lets go in my final episode of My Block,
(14:08):
last the last episode, and really, you know, makes that
decision and actually really like, let's you know, Kate was
gonna die and he thought she was going to die,
and it dug right into that wound and he had
to like to turn for that. That's right. Yeah, Kate
falling and busting her head open does take him right
(14:28):
back to those emotions that we see him facing in
like his flashbacks and all of the reasons why he
won't just fall. You see it witnessing a near death experience.
I think with Kate triggers so much. But what happens
(14:51):
in that moment, which I'm sure and I hope comes through,
is that unlike his father, he probably I feel like,
he must have really hated himself fact that he probably
lives with the fact that he could have saved his father.
But what happens with Kate is that he has a
moment of freezing and then he actually clicks into action.
He picks her up, he saves her, and I think,
(15:11):
you know, he's so full of adrenaline after that that
he I think that is also a massive moment with
Violet where he realizes that he's managed to step up
and that he is, you know, he is half of
what his father was, which is all he could ever
hope to be, because his father was, in his eyes,
the hero. So yeah, I feel like that's where he
(15:32):
really works it out. It's such a brilliant psychological study
actually as to what and it's such a big part
of why Anthony is who he is and why he's
behaved where he has my Lord rom from My God
Kate well the third and once he has a cut
(15:53):
from the back of her head. I kept pressure on it,
but it needs to Ditchingham, can you hear me? Banks
never allowed me to get to work. There was a
moment where we were talking, me and Chris about the
back stories and flashbacks and I was really really keen
on playing them. And I think that they could have
(16:16):
gone either way. I think they'd mentioned they might get
a younger actor, and I just think for the understanding
of Ruth's Violet's character, but also absolutely from series one
and series two, just it's such as specific and very
perceptive relationship of trauma between generations where Anthony's had to
(16:37):
and I've said this before, but it sort of has
to be a sorrow husband to her as we see
her trauma, or at least has to be supportive and
give her space. But in doing so, you know, there
was no other option really because there was no sort
of therapy at the time or support system. But he, Yeah,
I think he sort of fell through the cracks. And
I think, and it's not her fault, but I think
she sort of allowed that to happen and that was
(16:59):
kind of upsetting. And after that, I think when me
I did actually person stairs and Ruth was just there
so me we would downstairs someone in the snack, between
the snacks and the I'm the coffee gun, it was
just a bit Yeah, I think, I just it's just
quite It was quite an anxious place to be. I
think you get through it, but you just want to know.
So with Ruth watching her, because of the nature of
(17:22):
the sort of intensity of those scenes, we me and
Ruth balanced out by just sort of crying with laughter
when we weren't doing it even listening to there's a
moment where will, I mean the young actor who plays
will Gregory. He comes in the room and he's a
little vulnerable about coming in to speak to Anthony. Gregory
(17:46):
is at one point and they have a moment together
looking at their father's portrait on the wall and doing
this kind of that was a breakdown. It's like, I
loved him, and this is how I loved him. You
don't remember him, but he would loved you. He was
silly and him being able to talk about that your
father was the best man I haven't heard. It's good
(18:10):
for it off, of course, but it's courageous. I'm never
afraid to fight, not just for his family, everything else.
To do that, I shot from the point of view
of the father's portrait looking down at them as they're
(18:32):
looking up, and it's created a wonderful center punched duo.
And then you know, I did a reverse on them too,
because the team is just great, just great great. You know.
Jeff was just amazing to work with, so capturing some
really great moments around around in my block, around around
this storyline. Yeah, I mean, there's so many micro shifts,
(18:55):
and I think some of those are surprising to him,
and I don't think it's interesting with Anthony to know
and he's aware of what's happening to him and when
he's not, and I feel I felt like he was
kind of incredibly anxious anyway all the time. I was
really buckling under the pressure of his responsibilities. So I
sort of made a decision quite early on that actually
(19:15):
a lot of his sense and perspective on what's happening
he really only really happens when he's on his own.
So when he's having every sort of interaction he has
is so intense every different character that he's sort of
just trying to get through each moment. And I think
so many times he upsets people or says the wrong thing,
and so mapping that out and seeing how that goes forward,
it feels it felt like he was just acting in
(19:37):
the moment quite a lot of the time, other than
the prescribed approach of just you know, choosing a wife,
and edwin Or is for all intents and purposes, just
sort of a perfect viscountest material. So yeah, So it's
just sort of like he's actually sort of he's sort
of split, I think in a psychological term, in that
he sort of like represses so much of who he
(19:58):
really is in his yearning. He's done that so long
as we know, and I think that's why it's so
important to see his love affair with Sienna in series
one and to see how badly he could treat people
and how how how tough he was with himself around it,
because with Kate we see that he immediately starts compartmentalizing that.
But I think basically it was Chris Van Dewson is
(20:20):
just so great and his understanding interpretation of all of
the characters is just beyond and so much of it's
in the edit as well. Yeah, I just think he
was just kind of in the moment and if I
think that that was my approach to it, and I
think then going into that final ball and the final
dance is just really torturous for him because you know,
as we all know, as humans, you can work out
that you're in love and that you feel those things,
(20:42):
but the next stage is how do you communicate that
and how do you nurture it and how do you
catch it and keep it alive. I think vivid lessons
that we you know, especially during this pandemic, we're losing
so many people, and this world we're losing so many people.
In this life, you're able to talk about your they
he she, whatever, man, woman, whatever you are, talk about
(21:04):
your pain, communicate it, don't hold it up. And this
is something I do in my life right now. You
can't carry everybody's suitcases, especially your own, forever too heavy.
It's too heavy. It clogged you up. You're not living
your own life. So that's something that he did in
another scene and it was really beautiful. After the break,
will return to wrap up the season finale. Welcome back
(21:31):
to Bridgerton the Official podcast. You mentioned when we first
started talking about having all of the fun married sex scenes.
In episode two O eight, there's a moonlit scene where
Anthony and Kate are they're like fighting, but you know
they still they just still fall into each other. What
was that like? It was not easy. I mean, so
(21:55):
Chris really the writer and show runner, really wanted this
stuff to be shot outside and you know, them to
have sex outside and this, you know, um under the moonlight,
you know, on the ground, and this and that, and
it's November, it's November. To get all those clothes off,
(22:18):
you're wearing a corset. To make that happen romantically, it
just wasn't that easy. I had to figure out a
lot to in shooting it with Jeff in pieces, the
way to kind of shoot around it, what to bring
inside you could bring some of these moments, how to
shoot it tight enough or wide enough, and and and
then again about the kind of you know what we
(22:38):
had to do with an intimacy council and coordinator to
make sure that everybody was okay involved in this moment.
So and then just still gonna make it sexy, right,
So it was a lot of stuff that was not
on the page that had to be taking consideration um
to capture and and shoot to then you know, toss
(22:59):
over to the editum and to be able to cut up.
So I had to make sure I was getting everything
and everything safely and hot and you know, literally trying
to make people feel like they're hot. I mean we're
outside in the cold at like you know, I don't
know what time of day, it was like one am,
and we're shooting these scenes. Goods. Um. So I knew
(23:21):
that I had in my block the thing that everyone
was waiting for for a Shanda show for bridget In
is this hot sex, you know or sexy the hot
sexy of it. Yeah, So yeah, I had to good
and I had to think about like, what movements where
are going to happen, what play they were going to
be doing when they did get down to it, you know,
(23:42):
what facial expressions they are gonna happen. What's going to
be the turn on for them and for viewers down
the road. So I had a lot to kind of bring.
But I, again, I do have a background. I think
even all the way back to the Watermelon Woman, even
my short she Don't Fade. You know, I always think
that bodies are beautiful, you know, just knowing how to
(24:04):
shoot that kind of close up, shooting reaction shots, and
then making sure to work around the concept of for me,
what kind of sex are are we going to say
that the brown Woman's going to have outside of wedlock?
That last season the non brown woman had, you know,
in wedlock and we saw so I had to kind
(24:25):
of think about how I could play with that. Oh
snap right, So I wanted to make sure that was balancing.
I tossed those ideas and luckily Chris and the whole team,
you know, Tom all understood exactly, Oh yes, we don't
want to leave that matches. They said, yeah, because you know,
I'm like some brown girl giving it up, we're to
(24:47):
marry when the last season didn't do it, and they
were like, you're right girl, Oh my god. I said,
all right, let's figure out the the sex act that
will work, that can be played with so we don't
get into that thing. Where why did she have to
do that? You know? So I was heard and so
I just felt really good about that, and I feel
(25:09):
really great with what But we shot and well, I
was going to come off and people are going to
really like it. Does job. I didn't even consider that. Wow.
You paid a lot of attention to detail, Especially in
my intimacy scenes with Johnny. There were a few details
that were directed and initiated by Cheryl to kind of
(25:31):
she wanted it to be. You know, this is an
Indian girl was seeing on screen maybe for the first
time in a scene like this, and we wanted to
be empowering for her. Yeah, in such a society and
type of show where that was like absolutely unknown. Yeah,
like you could barely touch somebody in the courtyard or
be alone on chaperone. Yeah, and what message is that sending? Yeah?
(25:56):
But actually it then made an even though it's for
a better word, kind a moment where we see Anthony
giving pleasure to Kate. So it was Kate kind of
having her cake for a better word, um, which I think, Yeah,
I mean, which is you know, I think it's really
(26:18):
important to kind of portray females in their in their
sexuality in such power and confidence and it's getting what
they deserve of gosh. Yeah, seven and eight. Yeah, my
brother called me the other day and he's so sweet
and so supportive, but he was like, there any episode,
(26:39):
So I kind of just flicked through by the way, Um,
so yeah, um, just don't watch the whole last part
of the show. Yeah, exactly, pinpoint at least. Um, yeah, yeah,
it's going to be it's gonna be great. I think
it's going to be wild. But working with those seen
(27:00):
on a whole it was amazing, And I think by
block four, which is the block that she directed, we
all kind of were so warmed up into our characters
by then. It was such a joy working with her,
especially when you see the fire between the two of
them at the last bar that that I got to
shoot that just where they fall in love completely and
(27:22):
she just went a match. I mean what I mean,
you know that that casting was above me, but that
was this such you know karma from the Sharma right. Well, actually,
I don't know if this is true. I don't I
definitely think in that final dance scene, is that there
there is a version where they could have said the
wrong thing at the wrong time, which could have meant
(27:44):
the other one. She could have left, and I felt
like the snakes had to be so high. And the
fact that she says she comes to him and says,
you know, you know, I needed someone to lean on
at at the ball, and I think that's they just
edged closer, reploster, reploser, and then she leaves. I think
we've all experienced relationships like that where we're so afraid.
Maybe it comes from a people pleasing place, but we're
so afraid maybe to just be honest with one another
(28:07):
because of the fear a bit crumbling, where when actually
it's the opposite of that. I think the more honest
you are with each other in any relationship, that you
give an opportunity to kind of grow and become a
stronger relationship. We should continue to keep our distance between
us in light of them, perhaps we should not. I
(28:34):
actually weirdly had you know, some odd knowledge of I
went to a little black Girl's Dance go for thirteen
years of my life when I was a young young
in and working with the balls and the dances were
just amazing and it touched a whole different side of me.
(28:57):
And you know, coordinating them and having that sensibility about
music and dance and romance. There was something that this
was already in me and this really kind of came
out when you know, we were working on on that
with Jack. He was just amazing. Oh Jack Murphy, Yes,
(29:18):
he was like I love him. Jack and I just
were like the minute we had one meeting, it was
like you and me, when do you want to go out?
When do you want to just come by and hang out?
Because we just got it. We were just dancing up
a storm singing songs. So that was one person and
that was one quality of the showmaking that I didn't
(29:39):
know I could just that was all worried, like these balls,
Oh my god, how do you deal with these big
ass balls? You know, there's a coordinating and then he
and I worked it out and it was just beautiful
and it just it just clicked with some innate thing.
It was like you get it. I don't know why, Cheryl,
you get it. And I was like, I guess I do.
It's somewhere in how many days did you have have
(30:00):
to shoot your ball scenes and were they like on
location or was there a sound stage built one or
two days? And they're you know, the sets are already huge,
so we the ballrooms are pretty big sets. We just
you know, came up with them and rehearsed them. He
rehearsed alone with the actors and the dancers, and then
(30:23):
he hears the actors, and then we there's two together,
but the dancers are the dancers, and then the actors
who are dancing are actors who are dancing. So integrating
the two of them is us thematic. Then there's you know,
they're having no story points and conversations that I have
to film, So it's like how to make all that
scene one? I think they look beautiful together, beautiful? Indeed
(30:46):
do they not? Do they not? Then why is no
one else dancing? In addition to the big payoff scenes,
you also have these big rejection scenes that you're doing.
I just feel like you just had so much stuff
(31:10):
to untangle. Yeah, and I think, actually, you know, we
meet Kate and she's this extremely fierce, hardcore kind of
tough cookie, but especially by the wedding. Not that in
a negative way, but you kind of see that kind
of breakdown a bit, and she's incredibly vulnerable and soft,
(31:30):
and you see it all comes from a place of
her being too afraid to maybe do what she wants
book she's been so used to taking care of people
around her. With Simone, it was brilliant because we're just
such good partners. It felt like we had such a
good center team that we sort of did all the
work on our own. We never we sort of naturally
(31:53):
fell into a sort of work ethic where we didn't
really run lines together and we kept equate set, which
I think it's room for, and then we would just
talk loosely around what we thought was coming and when
we've read the scripts and what we thought, and so
it meant that we can really surprise each other, and
I think that's always really important. So we just sort
of I think we have the same instincts about the
(32:16):
ways to approach telling the story, but also about Kate
and Anthony, and they are very very very similar and
bonded through trauma and through experience and through being first
an eldest and then and then in personality anyway. I
think they're sort of wide and quite a similar way.
And it's actually then Anthony has ended Weena. Actually are
the ones that kind of grab her and are like wait.
(32:38):
I think Anthony literally does that with her, And in
a closet where Kate's kind of hiding away and she's
going to run away again, he grabbed her and he's
like wait, just wait, like, can we just take a
moment and just talk about our feelings about what's happening
that Kate runs away because she's very scared of your
family is financially offered to despond of my mother and
(33:00):
sister for another season. I'm certain they would do perfectly
well on their own. Is it is clear I am
of no help, you're running away? Yeah. The approach to
them coming together is so delica, and it felt likes
to be as honest as possible every step, the way
(33:21):
in playing each moment, and then at the end the
actual declaration of love is quite fairly simple, I think,
and then you just fully trust Christoha Newson and the
amazing Seon Baland team to put it all together. I
think the way that it's me like you feel, the
show feels really good because the people involved with the show,
the way that it's me the family that makes it
(33:43):
is having such a good time and the love that's there,
the cast and the crew, everybody feels it. Everyone says
that everyone talks about how tight knit and safe the
environment is as and safe as in like we can
take risks Tom Berica, who is the producing director, and
that's the type of person who stays with the show
(34:04):
the whole time. And you know, he's had other shows
and he's just a great guy's actor himself. He was
How to Get Away with Murder. He's the husband of
Viola Davis. Yes, I mean he's doing all of Queen Charlotte,
but he was. He actually for us directors from at
least me and my relationship to him are again were
(34:24):
born on the same day, May thirteen. He's from Philly
and I'm from Philly. His sister went to the same
high school that I went to, which is quite interesting.
I mean, we just had like so much synergy and
and just the way that Tom loves and cares and
care takes as well as works is again I learned
my heart grew so much for as a as a
(34:49):
director and as a person from from watching Tom you
know how he handles the floor and how he works
with people. That's the one best thing about working on
a show. Great, you get to make great content, but
not but when you get to see other people work
and learn from that process and incorporate that into your
directing style, that's what matters. And I learned so much
(35:10):
on bridget and I just I must honestly say that
I've learned so much and and I know that I'm
taking it to Audrey, take it to all the work
that I'm doing now. And that's all that I could
say is that was just the best experience I've had.
Oh my goodness, but it was all great. It was
a grand time, and I'm so blessed to have this
(35:32):
conversation with you about it. Is bring up so many
great feelings that I'm going to carry to the rest
of this day. Gosh, I'm just really excited to see
everyone see Johnny Babies take on Anthony Bridgeton's coming out
into the marriage market and finding his love match, and
(35:55):
for everyone to meet the Shamans and to see them
kind of ruffle some feathers within the time that we
know in Bridgeton, and also to see Phoebe because we
obviously fell in love with her in season one, but
to see the Dutchess kind of just slay in this season.
(36:16):
She really has just grown so much as a character
and as a person and she I think that's another
very special thing for me. Defriending Phoebe and just getting
to know her, and she gave me a lot of advice.
I think that that really meant a lot to me
as well. So yeah, I'm excited for all of those
different things into the world to just see it all unfold.
(36:38):
This season is going to be fantastic. I just want
to add Chris Bondson is an absolute hero, and I
love Sean Blad and Netflix. They're all amazing. Thank you
for joining us on this deep dive into the world
of Bridgeton, and a special thanks to all of our
guests for joining us and sharing some of these fantastic
(37:00):
stories and interviews from behind the scenes. If you enjoyed
Bridgerton the Official Podcast, please subscribe, share with your friends, rate,
or leave us a review. Bridgerton the Official Podcast is
executive produced by Sandy Bailey, Lauren Holman, Tyler Klang, and
Gabrielle Collins. Our producer and editor is Vince de Johnny Bridgerton.
The official podcast is a production of Shondaland Audio in
(37:21):
partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from Shondaland Audio, visit
the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you subscribe to your favorite shows.
Bridgerton The Official Podcast is a partnership between Shondaland Audio
and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Bridgerton the Official Podcast, your exclusive
peak behind the curtain of Shondaland's Bridgerton series. Before we
meet our guests this week, here's a brief recap of
episode two oh eight, The Viscount Who Loved Me. A
passionate night turns into a terrifying morning as Anthony rushes
(00:23):
to save Kate after her riding accident. Anthony can't bear
to visit her while she recovers, but when she awakens,
Violet Bridgerton urges Anthony not to lose her, and after
a failed proposal, the pair reunite at the Final Ball
in a well deserved season finale. Joining host Gabrielle Collins
this week is Simone Ashley, who plays Kate Charma, Jonathan
Bailey who plays Anthony Bridgerton, and Cheryl Junier, director of
(00:45):
episodes two o seven and two o eight. Hi, Welcome
back to bridgeton the official podcast. Hi, how are you
doing today? Today's the fifteenth of February and I realized
this day last year. It was when it was announced
that I was joining the World of bridgeton Wow kind
(01:05):
of crazy with it in the podcast today, because it's
been a very crazy year. I think me casting for
the role, it all happened within like fourteen days. It
was like blink and I got the role kind of thing.
It was so fast paced, and you know, it was
in the middle of the pandemic. Yeah, and the fact
that it's February fifteenth, like full circle, I know. I
(01:32):
remember I was like, I literally moved into this apartment.
I like moved all my stuff from La here. I
was a bit all over the place and I was
putting my Ikea table together and then the casting announced
was announced, and it was just like like, oh my god, yes,
and now a year later I'm sat talking with you
(01:52):
and we've done it, and wow, so weird. That is
so crazy. I think it was when we wrapped. We
were doing Pressed the next day and me, Johnny and
Adua were outside and we were just about to get
in our cars and we were like, you know, it's
so rare where you put so much work into a
(02:12):
project and you know it's going to just be fantastic
and now we all love it at the same time.
How special is that? And how privileged are we to
be a part of all of this. Honestly, really like
the most special year of my life so far. I'll
never forget it. Yeah, I mean it was incredibly special
being back on set, I think after having had such
(02:34):
thing a wild year as everyone has, you know, because
obviously in the pandemic, but then within that to average
to come out and for it to become what it became,
it felt like no time had passed, but you know,
we'd all experienced these extraordinary things. So yeah, it was
really cathartic. It was brilliant. Obviously knowing that I was
going to step in into the sort of romance narrative
(02:58):
this time around was thrilling and intimidating and you know,
scary and all the right ways. And the best I
could do really on the run up to it was
to get fit because obviously you want to just dive
into the material. And Chris Van Dewson is such a genius,
and I know we got scripts quite late on and
(03:19):
so I'd met Tertra and what's the moone first in
the flesh and we did a chemistry test, so that
was one big piece of the puzzle, and then met
Tertra on a zoom chemistry test and so it was
like seeing all the pieces fall into place was was
really really exciting, and then the scripts came last really,
so yeah, I just had to sort of hold your
(03:40):
nerve in that respect. In terms of prep, it's really
nostalgic for me absolutely to kind of think back on
receiving episodes because we would all have a zoom read
throughs together and you know, reading the scripts. Just yeah,
last year was one of the most special years of
my life. I think it was eleven months of work.
So basically, you know, a whole year of being in
(04:01):
these scripts and in this world and with these amazing
talented casting crew and people. It was just it was
like literally eleven months of Bridgeton. It was just so
consumed in that world, which I loved. I didn't realize
there was that long of a production. Yeah, Like, so
we when I got cast, I literally then went straight
(04:22):
into wake fittings, makeup tests, and horse riding, and then
we were filming accent training rehearsals, and then we wrapped
by end of November. So I loved it. I didn't
want it to end. I think with season two especially,
it was an amazing long term marathon challenge and to
(04:43):
be effectively a member of the crew because you're in
every day was amazing. When I hear you talk about
the prep and the work that you did put into it,
I helped listeners realize you're not just showing up and
being gorgeous. No, which yes, but like it's so much
work you guys are doing that. It was so much work.
(05:06):
But you know what, The scripts were written so beautifully.
Chris Van Jason is such a wonderful soul, such a
gentle character but also so smart, and he knew what
he wanted with this story. So to work with him
and with such beautiful writing, To have such amazing chemistry
with Johnny and for him to be leading this show
(05:28):
and being such a wonderful human he is, and everything
put together, it didn't feel like work. We all wanted
to create this fabulous love story. What was your experience
like working with with Cheryl? I loved working with Cheryl.
I think she's got a really good heart, and I
think that really it really bleeds into her work and
(05:49):
just how she is on set and how she works
working with her. Similar with Johnny, like we didn't have
to have like loads of lengthy conversations. It was quite unspoken,
like she would just kind of say a few things
and would get it. Simon was so great, charming, she's lovely,
she's just you know everything. So it was like, oh
my god, you know, I love you and all the
(06:11):
work that you do like a seal one of my
favorite shows. And look, he's just gorgeous. She was just
she was just the most charming, you know, wonderful person
who listened, who was on point, who you know, showed up,
who expressed herself, who took direction. Was Jeffrey Like Jeffrey Jerr, Like,
(06:34):
what role does he play in? Yeah, jeff Jure, he's
my side. You know. He was like the most gentle guy.
All right. I mean you think that somebody who kind
of creates a look for a show, who's dedicated to show,
who shot the whole books show or the whole season,
is gonna be like tired and like all right, girl,
(06:54):
I'm out. But were he was like, let's meet all
the weekend and talk about this. He was just he
was like a kid. He felt we were both like kids,
and we both he stood at the wheels, meaning there
are these wheels where he can kind of work the
camera in the room. While some dps actually sit down
and other people do stuff. Jeff was working all the time.
(07:17):
I mean, he was more than dedicated. Um and just
went I don't I don't know where he got his
his energy because he was on way before me. And
you know, I was tired. But he was I mean again,
wanting to meet on weekends because we didn't get enough
time to talk about this or that, wanting to come
up with shot like the shot lits, wanting to come
up with you know, the blocking, wanting to you know,
(07:39):
make sure I get the overhead shot, wanting to help
me do this sequence of you know, just everything. He
gave it his all on his his cart where he
stood and ran these wheels to to work with camera.
He had a little espresso machine and he would always
go here, charl you want an espresso. Oh my god,
(08:00):
this is as good as it get Here you go
Before I even said it. Sometimes here you go. And
I was just like, he is taking care of me.
You know, he's helping me get my looks. He's helping
me create the look I want for the show. He's
adding new ideas, he's saying this and that, and then
he's offering me a espresso. I was like, Okay, I
don't want to leave. I didn't want to leave. It
(08:21):
was like, I don't believe it's over. Please invite me back,
Please invite me back. I love I love Briton. I
just do. We'll be back after the break with a
deep dive into the full arc of Kayton Anthony's love
story Welcome Back. There's something about the way it all
(08:45):
comes to a head in the last two episodes, but
there's also a lot of finally happening in episodes two
o seven and two oh eight. So what happens in
every episode? And I think Johnny and I both knew
like where it was going to go and what was
the difference. Obviously from reading the books and discussions with Chris,
(09:05):
we could kind of get a sense of where things
were going and what was going to happen. But yeah,
I think we were so engrossed in each block in
each episode anyway. But I remember getting episode seven to
eight and being like, no way, like this is this happened.
He's letting go of being the viscount, or at least
trying to. He's gidding with Edwina's older sister like there's
(09:26):
a whole lot that's happening within Anthony when it comes
to the family duty versus the love, and it's so
aunt I think we there's so much tension between them,
and you really follow their character's journeys and everything that
they go through that when it does happen, it's such fireworks.
Working with Jonathan Bailey as Anthony, did you both have
(09:49):
a lot of conversations about what was going on inside
Anthony's head as he was making like these final decisions. Yeah, Yeah,
My conversations with Jona than Balley were just amazing. I mean,
he's a wonderful talented actor theater, you know, bridget In.
I mean he goes, you know, beyond what he is
in this character, and I think he uses all his
(10:10):
parts in this I think the biggest issue which runs
through the season is his relationship with his father, what
happened many many years ago, and if he could recover
from that to move on and live his life. And
I think that undercurrent was something that he really wanted
people to feel. You know, what do you do with
all that pent up energy that where you where you
(10:31):
build over a scar and you never look into it,
you know, you walk with a heavy heart and a
dark heart, and you can't heal and the self internal
healing that that character had to go through to be
wrongable again to show up to you know, four Kate,
to Kate as as a whole being and not as
you know, as anything other than himself, to offer himself
(10:52):
to somebody instead of offer all these notions and all
this baggage that he was carrying. So that was something
that we really kind of drummed through, and once we
hit that, spirit just stepped away and let him go right.
I mean, that's one thing that he I mean, he's
such a talented actor that he you know, I just
could walk away and let him, let him feel that,
and let him bring that to the service and some
(11:14):
of those performances. I must tell you that I was
crying and I would undoubtedly feel the same pain I
felt all over again if I hadn't too, because real,
true love is worth it. Do not lose her, Anthony.
(11:40):
You know, it's such a beautiful scene where he is
sitting there listening to his mother and and just having
this moment with Violet and him, and he just breaks
down and lets it go and he listens instead of
talks again, there's a lot of stuff on the page,
and there's a lot of stuff you just have to
let people kind of translate into the performances. And that's
(12:03):
a performance that I would say that he, you know,
just knocked out the wild work. I mean, from from
a memory of it, it felt like the real This
surge of realization comes with violet conversation in episode in
the final episode, so I feel like that was probably
the moment where she just I think she needs to
(12:23):
be told that he's in love. And that's amazing because
it's amazing for so many reasons. One that it's just
such a generous act of and I know that Phoebe
adaptly tries to tell him that and to educate him that,
but you can't hear that because love for him is
the absolute worst case scenario because it brings back all
the trauma. And Benedict has a sense of that but
(12:43):
doesn't really push him that far, just is kindly nudging
him along the side sidelines. But really it's it's Violet
who just says, you know you are this is love
and this is what it is, and you need to
go and fight for her. And if you don't let
this go you know, and so God, it's funny, like
even now I can well up, like well up, I'm
talking about it. I always thought it was just because
I was so tired filming the second series, but because
(13:05):
like you really like, you know, you just get so
much absolutely play. But yeah, and I think it's just
such a generous act. And I think in that moment,
I think he has probably in his head a sort
of Netflix retrospect montage and suddenly everything clicks in a
different way. And I think he pros it. He just
in that moment manages to process so much and to
(13:26):
understand that actually it is love. I think he just
doesn't understand. I just think he really doesn't isn't emotionally,
He doesn't have the vocabulary emotionally because I don't think
he managed to grow in the right way, because losing
his father is such a really really delicate time for
a man in their early twenties or you know, well
eight teens, even where the world sees you as an
(13:46):
adult and you're really really not. Yeah, that was a
beautiful one to see. Somebody was so much, you know,
so much pump and striking seems so much about you know,
you know, whether I account should be and who he
should be, and he become very unclear he'd be unstable,
but his heart was opening, you know, when he really
kind of lets go in my final episode of My Block,
(14:08):
last the last episode, and really, you know, makes that
decision and actually really like, let's you know, Kate was
gonna die and he thought she was going to die,
and it dug right into that wound and he had
to like to turn for that. That's right. Yeah, Kate
falling and busting her head open does take him right
(14:28):
back to those emotions that we see him facing in
like his flashbacks and all of the reasons why he
won't just fall. You see it witnessing a near death experience.
I think with Kate triggers so much. But what happens
(14:51):
in that moment, which I'm sure and I hope comes through,
is that unlike his father, he probably I feel like,
he must have really hated himself fact that he probably
lives with the fact that he could have saved his father.
But what happens with Kate is that he has a
moment of freezing and then he actually clicks into action.
He picks her up, he saves her, and I think,
(15:11):
you know, he's so full of adrenaline after that that
he I think that is also a massive moment with
Violet where he realizes that he's managed to step up
and that he is, you know, he is half of
what his father was, which is all he could ever
hope to be, because his father was, in his eyes,
the hero. So yeah, I feel like that's where he
(15:32):
really works it out. It's such a brilliant psychological study
actually as to what and it's such a big part
of why Anthony is who he is and why he's
behaved where he has my Lord rom from My God
Kate well the third and once he has a cut
(15:53):
from the back of her head. I kept pressure on it,
but it needs to Ditchingham, can you hear me? Banks
never allowed me to get to work. There was a
moment where we were talking, me and Chris about the
back stories and flashbacks and I was really really keen
on playing them. And I think that they could have
(16:16):
gone either way. I think they'd mentioned they might get
a younger actor, and I just think for the understanding
of Ruth's Violet's character, but also absolutely from series one
and series two, just it's such as specific and very
perceptive relationship of trauma between generations where Anthony's had to
(16:37):
and I've said this before, but it sort of has
to be a sorrow husband to her as we see
her trauma, or at least has to be supportive and
give her space. But in doing so, you know, there
was no other option really because there was no sort
of therapy at the time or support system. But he, Yeah,
I think he sort of fell through the cracks. And
I think, and it's not her fault, but I think
she sort of allowed that to happen and that was
(16:59):
kind of upsetting. And after that, I think when me
I did actually person stairs and Ruth was just there
so me we would downstairs someone in the snack, between
the snacks and the I'm the coffee gun, it was
just a bit Yeah, I think, I just it's just
quite It was quite an anxious place to be. I
think you get through it, but you just want to know.
So with Ruth watching her, because of the nature of
(17:22):
the sort of intensity of those scenes, we me and
Ruth balanced out by just sort of crying with laughter
when we weren't doing it even listening to there's a
moment where will, I mean the young actor who plays
will Gregory. He comes in the room and he's a
little vulnerable about coming in to speak to Anthony. Gregory
(17:46):
is at one point and they have a moment together
looking at their father's portrait on the wall and doing
this kind of that was a breakdown. It's like, I
loved him, and this is how I loved him. You
don't remember him, but he would loved you. He was
silly and him being able to talk about that your
father was the best man I haven't heard. It's good
(18:10):
for it off, of course, but it's courageous. I'm never
afraid to fight, not just for his family, everything else.
To do that, I shot from the point of view
of the father's portrait looking down at them as they're
(18:32):
looking up, and it's created a wonderful center punched duo.
And then you know, I did a reverse on them too,
because the team is just great, just great great. You know.
Jeff was just amazing to work with, so capturing some
really great moments around around in my block, around around
this storyline. Yeah, I mean, there's so many micro shifts,
(18:55):
and I think some of those are surprising to him,
and I don't think it's interesting with Anthony to know
and he's aware of what's happening to him and when
he's not, and I feel I felt like he was
kind of incredibly anxious anyway all the time. I was
really buckling under the pressure of his responsibilities. So I
sort of made a decision quite early on that actually
(19:15):
a lot of his sense and perspective on what's happening
he really only really happens when he's on his own.
So when he's having every sort of interaction he has
is so intense every different character that he's sort of
just trying to get through each moment. And I think
so many times he upsets people or says the wrong thing,
and so mapping that out and seeing how that goes forward,
it feels it felt like he was just acting in
(19:37):
the moment quite a lot of the time, other than
the prescribed approach of just you know, choosing a wife,
and edwin Or is for all intents and purposes, just
sort of a perfect viscountest material. So yeah, So it's
just sort of like he's actually sort of he's sort
of split, I think in a psychological term, in that
he sort of like represses so much of who he
(19:58):
really is in his yearning. He's done that so long
as we know, and I think that's why it's so
important to see his love affair with Sienna in series
one and to see how badly he could treat people
and how how how tough he was with himself around it,
because with Kate we see that he immediately starts compartmentalizing that.
But I think basically it was Chris Van Dewson is
(20:20):
just so great and his understanding interpretation of all of
the characters is just beyond and so much of it's
in the edit as well. Yeah, I just think he
was just kind of in the moment and if I
think that that was my approach to it, and I
think then going into that final ball and the final
dance is just really torturous for him because you know,
as we all know, as humans, you can work out
that you're in love and that you feel those things,
(20:42):
but the next stage is how do you communicate that
and how do you nurture it and how do you
catch it and keep it alive. I think vivid lessons
that we you know, especially during this pandemic, we're losing
so many people, and this world we're losing so many people.
In this life, you're able to talk about your they
he she, whatever, man, woman, whatever you are, talk about
(21:04):
your pain, communicate it, don't hold it up. And this
is something I do in my life right now. You
can't carry everybody's suitcases, especially your own, forever too heavy.
It's too heavy. It clogged you up. You're not living
your own life. So that's something that he did in
another scene and it was really beautiful. After the break,
will return to wrap up the season finale. Welcome back
(21:31):
to Bridgerton the Official podcast. You mentioned when we first
started talking about having all of the fun married sex scenes.
In episode two O eight, there's a moonlit scene where
Anthony and Kate are they're like fighting, but you know
they still they just still fall into each other. What
was that like? It was not easy. I mean, so
(21:55):
Chris really the writer and show runner, really wanted this
stuff to be shot outside and you know, them to
have sex outside and this, you know, um under the moonlight,
you know, on the ground, and this and that, and
it's November, it's November. To get all those clothes off,
(22:18):
you're wearing a corset. To make that happen romantically, it
just wasn't that easy. I had to figure out a
lot to in shooting it with Jeff in pieces, the
way to kind of shoot around it, what to bring
inside you could bring some of these moments, how to
shoot it tight enough or wide enough, and and and
then again about the kind of you know what we
(22:38):
had to do with an intimacy council and coordinator to
make sure that everybody was okay involved in this moment.
So and then just still gonna make it sexy, right,
So it was a lot of stuff that was not
on the page that had to be taking consideration um
to capture and and shoot to then you know, toss
(22:59):
over to the editum and to be able to cut up.
So I had to make sure I was getting everything
and everything safely and hot and you know, literally trying
to make people feel like they're hot. I mean we're
outside in the cold at like you know, I don't
know what time of day, it was like one am,
and we're shooting these scenes. Goods. Um. So I knew
(23:21):
that I had in my block the thing that everyone
was waiting for for a Shanda show for bridget In
is this hot sex, you know or sexy the hot
sexy of it. Yeah, So yeah, I had to good
and I had to think about like, what movements where
are going to happen, what play they were going to
be doing when they did get down to it, you know,
(23:42):
what facial expressions they are gonna happen. What's going to
be the turn on for them and for viewers down
the road. So I had a lot to kind of bring.
But I, again, I do have a background. I think
even all the way back to the Watermelon Woman, even
my short she Don't Fade. You know, I always think
that bodies are beautiful, you know, just knowing how to
(24:04):
shoot that kind of close up, shooting reaction shots, and
then making sure to work around the concept of for me,
what kind of sex are are we going to say
that the brown Woman's going to have outside of wedlock?
That last season the non brown woman had, you know,
in wedlock and we saw so I had to kind
(24:25):
of think about how I could play with that. Oh
snap right, So I wanted to make sure that was balancing.
I tossed those ideas and luckily Chris and the whole team,
you know, Tom all understood exactly, Oh yes, we don't
want to leave that matches. They said, yeah, because you know,
I'm like some brown girl giving it up, we're to
(24:47):
marry when the last season didn't do it, and they
were like, you're right girl, Oh my god. I said,
all right, let's figure out the the sex act that
will work, that can be played with so we don't
get into that thing. Where why did she have to
do that? You know? So I was heard and so
I just felt really good about that, and I feel
(25:09):
really great with what But we shot and well, I
was going to come off and people are going to
really like it. Does job. I didn't even consider that. Wow.
You paid a lot of attention to detail, Especially in
my intimacy scenes with Johnny. There were a few details
that were directed and initiated by Cheryl to kind of
(25:31):
she wanted it to be. You know, this is an
Indian girl was seeing on screen maybe for the first
time in a scene like this, and we wanted to
be empowering for her. Yeah, in such a society and
type of show where that was like absolutely unknown. Yeah,
like you could barely touch somebody in the courtyard or
be alone on chaperone. Yeah, and what message is that sending? Yeah?
(25:56):
But actually it then made an even though it's for
a better word, kind a moment where we see Anthony
giving pleasure to Kate. So it was Kate kind of
having her cake for a better word, um, which I think, Yeah,
I mean, which is you know, I think it's really
(26:18):
important to kind of portray females in their in their
sexuality in such power and confidence and it's getting what
they deserve of gosh. Yeah, seven and eight. Yeah, my
brother called me the other day and he's so sweet
and so supportive, but he was like, there any episode,
(26:39):
So I kind of just flicked through by the way, Um,
so yeah, um, just don't watch the whole last part
of the show. Yeah, exactly, pinpoint at least. Um, yeah, yeah,
it's going to be it's gonna be great. I think
it's going to be wild. But working with those seen
(27:00):
on a whole it was amazing, And I think by
block four, which is the block that she directed, we
all kind of were so warmed up into our characters
by then. It was such a joy working with her,
especially when you see the fire between the two of
them at the last bar that that I got to
shoot that just where they fall in love completely and
(27:22):
she just went a match. I mean what I mean,
you know that that casting was above me, but that
was this such you know karma from the Sharma right. Well, actually,
I don't know if this is true. I don't I
definitely think in that final dance scene, is that there
there is a version where they could have said the
wrong thing at the wrong time, which could have meant
(27:44):
the other one. She could have left, and I felt
like the snakes had to be so high. And the
fact that she says she comes to him and says,
you know, you know, I needed someone to lean on
at at the ball, and I think that's they just
edged closer, reploster, reploser, and then she leaves. I think
we've all experienced relationships like that where we're so afraid.
Maybe it comes from a people pleasing place, but we're
so afraid maybe to just be honest with one another
(28:07):
because of the fear a bit crumbling, where when actually
it's the opposite of that. I think the more honest
you are with each other in any relationship, that you
give an opportunity to kind of grow and become a
stronger relationship. We should continue to keep our distance between
us in light of them, perhaps we should not. I
(28:34):
actually weirdly had you know, some odd knowledge of I
went to a little black Girl's Dance go for thirteen
years of my life when I was a young young
in and working with the balls and the dances were
just amazing and it touched a whole different side of me.
(28:57):
And you know, coordinating them and having that sensibility about
music and dance and romance. There was something that this
was already in me and this really kind of came
out when you know, we were working on on that
with Jack. He was just amazing. Oh Jack Murphy, Yes,
(29:18):
he was like I love him. Jack and I just
were like the minute we had one meeting, it was
like you and me, when do you want to go out?
When do you want to just come by and hang out?
Because we just got it. We were just dancing up
a storm singing songs. So that was one person and
that was one quality of the showmaking that I didn't
(29:39):
know I could just that was all worried, like these balls,
Oh my god, how do you deal with these big
ass balls? You know, there's a coordinating and then he
and I worked it out and it was just beautiful
and it just it just clicked with some innate thing.
It was like you get it. I don't know why, Cheryl,
you get it. And I was like, I guess I do.
It's somewhere in how many days did you have have
(30:00):
to shoot your ball scenes and were they like on
location or was there a sound stage built one or
two days? And they're you know, the sets are already huge,
so we the ballrooms are pretty big sets. We just
you know, came up with them and rehearsed them. He
rehearsed alone with the actors and the dancers, and then
(30:23):
he hears the actors, and then we there's two together,
but the dancers are the dancers, and then the actors
who are dancing are actors who are dancing. So integrating
the two of them is us thematic. Then there's you know,
they're having no story points and conversations that I have
to film, So it's like how to make all that
scene one? I think they look beautiful together, beautiful? Indeed
(30:46):
do they not? Do they not? Then why is no
one else dancing? In addition to the big payoff scenes,
you also have these big rejection scenes that you're doing.
I just feel like you just had so much stuff
(31:10):
to untangle. Yeah, and I think, actually, you know, we
meet Kate and she's this extremely fierce, hardcore kind of
tough cookie, but especially by the wedding. Not that in
a negative way, but you kind of see that kind
of breakdown a bit, and she's incredibly vulnerable and soft,
(31:30):
and you see it all comes from a place of
her being too afraid to maybe do what she wants
book she's been so used to taking care of people
around her. With Simone, it was brilliant because we're just
such good partners. It felt like we had such a
good center team that we sort of did all the
work on our own. We never we sort of naturally
(31:53):
fell into a sort of work ethic where we didn't
really run lines together and we kept equate set, which
I think it's room for, and then we would just
talk loosely around what we thought was coming and when
we've read the scripts and what we thought, and so
it meant that we can really surprise each other, and
I think that's always really important. So we just sort
of I think we have the same instincts about the
(32:16):
ways to approach telling the story, but also about Kate
and Anthony, and they are very very very similar and
bonded through trauma and through experience and through being first
an eldest and then and then in personality anyway. I
think they're sort of wide and quite a similar way.
And it's actually then Anthony has ended Weena. Actually are
the ones that kind of grab her and are like wait.
(32:38):
I think Anthony literally does that with her, And in
a closet where Kate's kind of hiding away and she's
going to run away again, he grabbed her and he's
like wait, just wait, like, can we just take a
moment and just talk about our feelings about what's happening
that Kate runs away because she's very scared of your
family is financially offered to despond of my mother and
(33:00):
sister for another season. I'm certain they would do perfectly
well on their own. Is it is clear I am
of no help, you're running away? Yeah. The approach to
them coming together is so delica, and it felt likes
to be as honest as possible every step, the way
(33:21):
in playing each moment, and then at the end the
actual declaration of love is quite fairly simple, I think,
and then you just fully trust Christoha Newson and the
amazing Seon Baland team to put it all together. I
think the way that it's me like you feel, the
show feels really good because the people involved with the show,
the way that it's me the family that makes it
(33:43):
is having such a good time and the love that's there,
the cast and the crew, everybody feels it. Everyone says
that everyone talks about how tight knit and safe the
environment is as and safe as in like we can
take risks Tom Berica, who is the producing director, and
that's the type of person who stays with the show
(34:04):
the whole time. And you know, he's had other shows
and he's just a great guy's actor himself. He was
How to Get Away with Murder. He's the husband of
Viola Davis. Yes, I mean he's doing all of Queen Charlotte,
but he was. He actually for us directors from at
least me and my relationship to him are again were
(34:24):
born on the same day, May thirteen. He's from Philly
and I'm from Philly. His sister went to the same
high school that I went to, which is quite interesting.
I mean, we just had like so much synergy and
and just the way that Tom loves and cares and
care takes as well as works is again I learned
my heart grew so much for as a as a
(34:49):
director and as a person from from watching Tom you
know how he handles the floor and how he works
with people. That's the one best thing about working on
a show. Great, you get to make great content, but
not but when you get to see other people work
and learn from that process and incorporate that into your
directing style, that's what matters. And I learned so much
(35:10):
on bridget and I just I must honestly say that
I've learned so much and and I know that I'm
taking it to Audrey, take it to all the work
that I'm doing now. And that's all that I could
say is that was just the best experience I've had.
Oh my goodness, but it was all great. It was
a grand time, and I'm so blessed to have this
(35:32):
conversation with you about it. Is bring up so many
great feelings that I'm going to carry to the rest
of this day. Gosh, I'm just really excited to see
everyone see Johnny Babies take on Anthony Bridgeton's coming out
into the marriage market and finding his love match, and
(35:55):
for everyone to meet the Shamans and to see them
kind of ruffle some feathers within the time that we
know in Bridgeton, and also to see Phoebe because we
obviously fell in love with her in season one, but
to see the Dutchess kind of just slay in this season.
(36:16):
She really has just grown so much as a character
and as a person and she I think that's another
very special thing for me. Defriending Phoebe and just getting
to know her, and she gave me a lot of advice.
I think that that really meant a lot to me
as well. So yeah, I'm excited for all of those
different things into the world to just see it all unfold.
(36:38):
This season is going to be fantastic. I just want
to add Chris Bondson is an absolute hero, and I
love Sean Blad and Netflix. They're all amazing. Thank you
for joining us on this deep dive into the world
of Bridgeton, and a special thanks to all of our
guests for joining us and sharing some of these fantastic
(37:00):
stories and interviews from behind the scenes. If you enjoyed
Bridgerton the Official Podcast, please subscribe, share with your friends, rate,
or leave us a review. Bridgerton the Official Podcast is
executive produced by Sandy Bailey, Lauren Holman, Tyler Klang, and
Gabrielle Collins. Our producer and editor is Vince de Johnny Bridgerton.
The official podcast is a production of Shondaland Audio in
(37:21):
partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from Shondaland Audio, visit
the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you subscribe to your favorite shows.
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