- 1 week ago
A panel discussion featuring India Amarteifio, Arsema Thomas, moderated by Danielle Cadet.
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00:00Welcome back. We are about to have a very dope conversation.
00:04If you are a Shonda Rhimes fan, raise your hand if you watched Bridgerton.
00:08Yes. Yes. Lots of Bridgerton fans.
00:11Favorite. We have a favorite character out there.
00:13Anybody loving Lady Danbury? There we go. Lady Danbury.
00:18OK. Queen Charlotte, because we all know she is a bad mother.
00:22Shut your mouth. OK. So knowing that we have some fans makes this conversation all the more exciting.
00:28We are about to check out and we're going to give you guys an exclusive preview of Queen Charlotte, a Bridgerton story.
00:36OK, we'll be checking in with two of the show's stars to hear about their characters, their experience, working on the series and so much more.
00:46Before we get into it, I'm going to tell you a little bit about the series.
00:49So obviously we've got some we've got some Queen Charlotte fans. Right.
00:52And in Bridgerton, we see her as an adult standing in her power, killing the game as a black woman.
00:59OK. But Queen Charlotte, the Bridgerton story introduces us to a young Charlotte who's only starting to understand her power and the meaning of love.
01:12We meet young Charlotte as she embarks on her life changing marriage with young King Richard and enters a very different world from the one seen in Bridgerton.
01:24Naturally, a fearless leader like Charlotte is the one spearheading a societal shift that will lead generations of change in the Bridgerton world.
01:34Here's a look at the official trailer.
01:35Your Majesty.
01:50Hello, Charlotte.
01:52I'm George.
02:01Your marriage is the business of this country.
02:04This cannot go wrong.
02:05You are the first of your kind.
02:08You must secure your position.
02:14This is my home.
02:18I am the Queen.
02:23Come on.
02:24Now that looks good, doesn't it?
02:37That looks good.
02:38I'm going to be Netflix and chilling to that.
02:40I don't know about y'all.
02:42So now that we've heard a little bit about the series.
02:46Oh, excuse me.
02:47Now that we've heard a little bit about the series, we're going to have a conversation with two of the cast members.
02:52Let's welcome India Armitafio and Arcema Thomas.
02:58Watch your step.
02:59Watch your step.
03:02Hi.
03:03Hello.
03:04Hi.
03:04Thank you so much.
03:06Y'all look so cute.
03:09Let's sit down and get comfy.
03:11Yes.
03:12Let's just give them one more round of applause, okay?
03:19So welcome.
03:20It is.
03:20I'm so excited to speak with both of you and to speak about this series.
03:25India, I'm going to start with you.
03:27Can you tell me a little bit about your journey to Queen Charlotte and how you got the role?
03:34Yeah.
03:34So I auditioned for a unknown Shonda Rhimes Bridgerton project in 2021.
03:43I just graduated drama school.
03:46So I was like the rest of most people graduating from drama school, very lost.
03:51Um, and, um, yeah, it came in through my emails and I thought, wow, this is incredible.
03:56Um, didn't know much about the project and then, um, got a callback, which is like a recall
04:01or a second audition.
04:02Um, and then I kind of kept getting callbacks and I was like, this is becoming real, um,
04:07and more tangible.
04:08And then, um, as the, um, audition process kind of, um, continued, I, um, found out more
04:15about the project.
04:16I knew that I was auditioning for Queen Charlotte and they were doing a whole kind of spinoff,
04:20um, off the iconic character from Bridgerton.
04:23Um, and then, yeah, in February I met Arsema in a little room in East London and we kind
04:30of looked at each other like, which one of us is going for this?
04:33Like, we didn't really know what was going on.
04:35I thought Arsema had the role and they were kind of seeing if we had good chemistry, which
04:39we definitely don't.
04:40Um, um, yeah.
04:42And then I had my, yeah, chemistry read with Arsema, had my chemistry read with Corey who
04:47plays, um, King George.
04:48And, um, a week later we were, we were cast.
04:51So, yeah.
04:52I mean, you can tell they have no chemistry, right?
04:54Like.
04:54It was awful.
04:55Awful.
04:57I've been totally third willing with them for the last 10 minutes.
05:00So, um, so I want to talk about that a little bit.
05:03You're going through different rounds and you're finding out more about the project.
05:07How did that feel?
05:08Were you a fan of Bridgerton?
05:10What did it feel like when you found out what the project was?
05:15And to your point, it was connected to this already iconic show.
05:19Were you a fan of the, of the series and how did you feel with it knowing what you were,
05:23you were, um, auditioning for?
05:25Yeah.
05:26Um, first of all, yeah.
05:27A massive fan of the series.
05:29Um, I know Arsema will probably speak of Shonda, but Shonda is, you know, such a iconic
05:36person in the industry, um, and is incredibly important for lots of people.
05:42Um, especially, you know, young black women coming into an industry where they are not
05:47usually seen, um, or given the, the platform to, to do such kind of, um, projects where
05:55you can also put people into positions where they're also not seen.
05:59Um, so it was a massive honor to kind of even have the audition through.
06:04Um, and then I realized actually how, um, the immense weight of the role, um, again,
06:14I think similar to the, to the point of it being Shonda and how important she is to so
06:19many people.
06:21Um, this character is so important to so many people.
06:23Queen Charlotte is, is, uh, but again, an icon, um, in the Bridgerton world and, um, represents
06:30a lot of, um, people again, like Shonda, who, um, originally were not in, in these positions.
06:38Um, so I think I was, I was really excited to take on the role, but also terrified because
06:44I knew that, um, it was more than just an acting, you know, the, the, the easy part for
06:51me is to rock up on set and to, to act, but this part and, you know, the, the press and
06:56the, um, the kind of, uh, showing of the show and exploring the show and, and, and exploring
07:03the themes and talking about the themes and things like that, that is really powerful,
07:07um, for this particular series as well.
07:09So it's, it's, it's a lot.
07:11Yeah, absolutely.
07:12I mean, I love that you say that and I, I want to dig into that a little bit.
07:15And I love that you talk about just, you know, the level of, of Queen Charlotte as a
07:20character, right?
07:21And Bridgerton fans are already familiar with who she is.
07:26We love black royalty, don't we?
07:28Okay.
07:29We love seeing, I mean, black women are Queens every day, but we love seeing black royalty.
07:35And, um, and so you're getting to introduce her to this audience in a new light.
07:40Um, and, and for Bridgerton fans, what are you most excited, uh, for them to see in this
07:48era of the Queens experience?
07:50We've seen her as an adult, but you're really introducing us to a completely different side
07:54of her.
07:55What do you, what do you want?
07:56What are you excited for fans to, to learn about her or to see in the way that you're portraying
08:01her?
08:01I think, um, we see her as very headstrong.
08:09And very assured and very, um, confident and grounded in who she is in Bridgerton from
08:19day one, you know, from episode one, we are introduced to a queen and she is the ruler
08:25and she has everything together.
08:27And she seems to be in control of not only herself, but in, in control of the society and
08:33how society works.
08:35And in Queen Charlotte, we see nothing of the sort, you know, she's, she's a young girl
08:42that's been shipped over from Germany, um, and has been forced into a marriage in order
08:49to create better relations, um, between two countries and, and for their trade.
08:55Um, and, uh, Queen Charlotte basically shows that there was a journey from, from where,
09:04where we see her in Queen Charlotte to in Bridgerton.
09:07She isn't that headstrong, um, feisty, you know, um, kind of brazen woman that we see in
09:16Bridgerton from the beginning.
09:17She has, she's, she's, she's on a journey.
09:20Um, and I think that the show kind of, yeah, it highlights how, how much she had to grow
09:27and develop, um, in order to become who we see her in, in Bridgerton, because she definitely
09:31doesn't start out like that.
09:33So I love that.
09:33I love that, that we're going to get to see that level of vulnerability and growth and
09:37evolution.
09:38Um, and I wonder as you were thinking about that, what was important for you to bring out
09:45in the role, you know, as you think about this journey, was there anything that was particularly
09:49important for you to really portray and were you able to relate to her?
09:54Definitely.
09:55Um, I think you hit the, the, the nail on the head there about vulnerability.
09:59Um, is, there's an incredible amount of vulnerability that she has, you know, she, um, again, as I said,
10:06is shipped over from Germany at 17 years old.
10:09Historically, obviously Queen Charlotte is not a piece of historical accuracy.
10:13Um, we, we take kind of characters who were, um, real historical figures, Queen Charlotte
10:19and King George and, and Bridgified them as the word I like to use.
10:22And yeah, I had to find something rather than just like finding like a really difficult
10:28journey, just Bridgified it.
10:30It, it says it all.
10:31Um, so yeah, I'm, I'm, um, yeah, excited to kind of, to show that vulnerable, that vulnerable
10:38side, um, and then, um, what was, well, sorry, I completely forgot your question.
10:45Did you relate to her?
10:46Could you relate to her?
10:47Oh, God, yeah.
10:47God, yeah.
10:48You know, um, a girl, um, coming from, you know, a place where she feels accepted and at
10:58home and knowing of who she is into a society, um, and into a group of people that look nothing
11:06like her, sound nothing like her.
11:09Um, you know, she cannot relate to anyone apart from one person.
11:13Um, thank God, um, who again is so crucial to her journey and crucial into how she becomes,
11:19um, kind of so brazen in Bridgerton.
11:21Um, yeah, you know, I, I, um, I'm mixed, raced, um, my, my dad is of, um, Ghanaian descent.
11:30My mom's from white British, um, descent.
11:32So, you know, I've always, there's always that difficulty of finding where I, where I am
11:37in the room, you know, and, and finding that, that conflict in myself of, um, you know, self
11:44acceptance of, of my heritage on both sides.
11:47Um, and then, you know, getting looks from, from people when I'm walking down the street
11:53and I've got my hair out and it's natural texture.
11:55And, um, yeah, it was, it was super interesting to read that in a script actually and to go,
12:02I relate to that.
12:03And I know so many people are going to relate to, um, the stuff that Charlotte has to go
12:08through because it still impacts society today.
12:11Absolutely.
12:12Um, yeah, so it's great.
12:13Yeah, that's great.
12:14And I love that you talk about the relationship between you two.
12:16We're going to get into that a little bit more.
12:18Um, you mentioned hair and we all know, you know, the fashions, the hair, the fashions,
12:25right?
12:26Queen Charlotte is known to give a look.
12:29Um, and so, you know, she is always serving stunning fashion.
12:32What was it like stepping into those costumes?
12:35Did the costume, uh, the customers and the jewels, like, did it help you get into character?
12:40Did you feel like a completely different person?
12:42Were you like, okay, I'm queen now.
12:44I'll forget y'all.
12:46How did it feel getting, just like stepping into that full era from head to toe, hair,
12:52makeup, jewelry, clothing, everything?
12:54It felt heavy.
12:56Um, the, the costumes are heavy.
12:59Um, but it's great because as you said, again, you, you just, you're, you're basically saying
13:04everything that I'm like, I don't need to be here.
13:07I should just leave.
13:08Um, but yeah, it, it just helps character because I'm not having to think, oh, what would it
13:13feel like if this was really heavy?
13:14Or what would this feel like if I was restricted, um, from the torso up?
13:20Um, I actually am, we're wearing the corsets, we're wearing the real jewels, we're wearing,
13:25you know, real hair.
13:26Um, so in, in that sense, in terms of finding character is great because, you know, I'm,
13:33I'm just existing and my mannerisms are just happening because I'm walking or because I'm
13:38just wearing the clothes.
13:39Um, but then, you know, um, Nick Collins who designed the, um, hair and makeup, uh, was
13:47very clear with me from the beginning that she wanted, um, to re-imagine or to, to create,
13:57um, hair pieces and, and the looks of, um, Georgian, Georgian era in, in, with using real
14:07textured hair, which is something that is not really done really before Chandra, you
14:13know, like to see black people in, in, in, you know, in Georgian time with, with natural
14:21hair, but then also in that style is, um, yeah, it, it was, it was kind of striking at
14:28first because I, I wasn't used to seeing that.
14:30It was, it was something so new, um, but it's beautiful.
14:33And I'm so, so glad that in the show, um, her hair is, is shown in its natural texture
14:39and, and with the curls, cause you know, there's so many jobs where they're trying to straighten
14:43your hair or whatever it is.
14:45And to, um, it would, you know, it would make sense to kind of show that they conformed
14:50in that time.
14:51Right.
14:51But part of Charlotte is that she pushed against those boundaries and she, um, didn't conform
14:58and hence why in Bridgerton it's, it's a lot more diverse and, um, it's a lot more, um,
15:03free in terms of the, the styles that people are allowed to wear and who they're allowed
15:08to be with and how society just looks as a whole.
15:12Um, so yeah, it's, it's great.
15:14And, um, I felt very, very empowered kind of being a queen, but then also having my natural
15:23texture and then that being seen as beautiful and that being seen as regal, not just
15:27regal, but you know, the highest of the top of monarchy, you know what I mean?
15:31Now, right.
15:32Let's talk about that.
15:33Right.
15:33To be able to be a queen in your natural hair, you know, with your natural hair and its natural
15:39texture.
15:39I mean, to your point, bridgifying this universe where otherwise we wouldn't be able to exist
15:45that way, which I just think it's so impactful and so powerful.
15:49It's, it speaks so much to who Shonda Rhimes is.
15:52Um, but certainly to who, who you are as an actress, um, and being able to really step
15:57into your full power there.
15:58I love that.
15:59I love that.
16:00Um, I don't know if y'all are excited, but I am.
16:03Okay.
16:03So we are going to check out a clip of King George and Queen Charlotte meeting for the
16:09first time.
16:11Dun, dun, dun.
16:18Hello, my lady.
16:19Are you in need of assistance of some kind?
16:21Uh, I am quite fine.
16:23You can go back inside and wait with all the other Gawkers.
16:26I will, but first, I'm curious.
16:29What are you doing?
16:29Nothing.
16:30You're doing something.
16:32I am not.
16:33You are.
16:33I am not.
16:34You are.
16:38If you must know, I'm trying to ascertain the best way to climb over the garden wall.
16:43Climb whatever for?
16:46Because I think he may be a beast.
16:48A beast?
16:48Or a troll.
16:50Who are we discussing?
16:52Oh, well, that is impertinent.
16:53None of your business.
16:54The King.
16:59No one will speak of him.
17:00No one.
17:01He is clearly a beast or a troll.
17:03I understood.
17:04You know, if I grab there, yes, perhaps you could assist me by lifting me up there?
17:08Uh, one question.
17:09You do not like beasts or trolls?
17:11What he looks like matters?
17:12I do not care what he looks like.
17:14What I do not like is not knowing.
17:15Now, here.
17:16Just take hold here.
17:17With a lift, I believe I can make it over the garden wall.
17:20You want me to lift you over the wall so you may escape?
17:23That is what I said, yes.
17:24People will notice you are missing, will they not?
17:25I shall worry about that later.
17:27Now, if you please.
17:28I just need a little help.
17:29Come, make haste.
17:32I have absolutely no intention of helping you.
17:37I am a lady in distress.
17:39You refuse to help a lady in distress.
17:42I refuse when that lady in distress is trying to go over a wall so that she does not have
17:46to marry me.
17:57There's something, there is, there is something about watching clips with other black folks.
18:04Because when somebody says, ow, I love that.
18:10I, okay, I'm absolutely watching this with only other black people, right?
18:14I love when somebody says, ow, okay.
18:18I love that.
18:19Definitely you can see, you know, that brazen confidence, but then also that vulnerability
18:26come out a little bit when she's kind of knocked off, off her balance there.
18:29I love that.
18:30That's really exciting.
18:32Arsama, I want to talk about, we talked a little bit about you all, it's just natural
18:36relationship and how important Lady Danbury's friendship is, you know, with Queen, with
18:43Queen, Charlotte.
18:44So I want, I want to shift over to your journey into this role.
18:50And let's start, let's, let's take a step back and were you familiar with the Bridgerton
18:54series and before taking on this role and, and tell us about your journey, you know, into,
19:00into this, into this role overall.
19:03Were you nervous?
19:04Did you kind of feel similarly in terms of, did you even know, but did you kind of feel
19:09similarly in terms of taking on this role with such an iconic series?
19:12So I, um, that's a great question.
19:15Uh, I did not watch Bridgerton before auditioning.
19:19Um, I know, shame, shame.
19:21Do you feel that was, did you think that was better?
19:23That it was helpful for you?
19:24I thought it was helpful for me.
19:26I think the moment that I got the audition, um, and I saw that it was one, Shonda Rhimes
19:32and two, like something in the Bridgerton verse.
19:34So I was like, okay, I cannot watch this because I know like the audition piece came from a
19:40scene that was already out.
19:41So I was like, if I watch it, it's already going to taint me in a way that like, I know
19:46is, I can't control myself.
19:47So it's just going to influence it.
19:50Um, so I went throughout the whole thing, not watching it until it looked like it was
19:58actually going to happen.
20:00Okay.
20:00Cause the moment you get the second, I got the second recall.
20:03I was like, if I watch this then, and I don't get it, I'm going to be heartbroken to an extent
20:08I will never really come back from.
20:10Right.
20:10And so then, um, I watched the whole thing and then I realized like the character that
20:17I was going up for and that really put everything into perspective for me.
20:24Cause when I watched Bridgerton, a part of me was a bit saddened that there weren't characters
20:30that looked like me.
20:31Like there were, you know, obviously it was a much more diverse, you know, cast than a
20:36period piece was, but there were no like black women except for her.
20:41Yeah.
20:42And still it was this, you know, older woman.
20:45She had, you know, I mean, this show is a lot about like the steaminess and she had none
20:50of that.
20:51And so to then realize that I was going to be able to bring that to this, I was like,
20:57this is going to be, this could change things.
21:00And then you feel the responsibility of what that means.
21:04Right.
21:04How does that feel?
21:05How did that feel?
21:06Is that you, did you run from that?
21:08I mean, clearly you ran into that.
21:10Tell me about that.
21:11Tell me about that experience.
21:12I mean, I think the responsibility kind of hit a personal place because when I grew
21:19up, I mean, I grew up on TV and there were not any dark skinned black girls at all that
21:29were not like, you know, there to be funny or to support the main role of, you know, the
21:35main character.
21:36And then they had no story whatsoever.
21:38There was none of that.
21:39Right.
21:40And I thought that meant that my story doesn't need to be told.
21:45Right.
21:46I thought that meant that I had nothing worth saying.
21:50And it really, really did a number on me because then I realized it made me have a really difficult
21:57time with my hair, have a difficult time, you know, with colorism and all of the different
22:04things.
22:04So when I realized that I could be doing something for a young black girl who's watching the show,
22:12I realized like, I have to do the best, sorry, the best job, the best job ever.
22:18Can we curse?
22:18We can curse.
22:19Can we?
22:20Yeah.
22:20Okay.
22:21So, yeah, then I was like, I need to knock this out of the park.
22:26She did.
22:27Can we just get a round of applause for that?
22:28Because it's powerful.
22:30And I just, I want to give you your flowers because you are about to change that for a
22:35little brown skin girl.
22:36You know, there's going to be brown skin little girls who are going to see you and say, my
22:41story does matter.
22:42And that's very much because of a choice you made to lean into that and step into this
22:46role.
22:46So just another round of applause.
22:48I mean, Shonda is the one who wrote it.
22:50I just, I just showed up.
22:52That's a lot to do.
22:53I mean, showing up is a lot.
22:54Showing up is a lot.
22:55Um, we're going to toss to the carriage clip, actually, which shows.
23:01I love that clip.
23:02Lady Danbury.
23:03So let's get a little taste of, of good, of good.
23:05Wait, wait.
23:06Okay.
23:06Yeah.
23:07Does it?
23:07Let's see.
23:08Let's see.
23:21You give the appearance of a statue.
23:51Statues are works of art. Art is beautiful.
23:55Art can be beautiful to gaze upon. You are ridiculous to the eye.
23:59Is there a point?
24:00You have not moved an inch in six hours.
24:03I am wearing Lyonnais silk, encrusted with Indian sapphires, working with overlay of 200-year-old lace.
24:11Apparently too much movement can cause the sapphires to shred the lace.
24:15If that's not enough, the gown sits atop a bespoke underpinning made of whalebone.
24:19Whalebone?
24:20Yes. Whalebone, brother. The bones of whales. Whales died so I could look like this.
24:27All the finest corsets are whalebone. You would know that if you knew anything.
24:31If you ever paid attention, you would also know that the problem with whalebone is that it is rather delicate and also very, very sharp.
24:38And of course, I am in the height of fashion, so this corset is quite snug.
24:42So I give the appearance of a statue. Ridiculous to the eye, but that is because I cannot move.
24:47And because I must arrive on display, I am forced into a ludicrous gown so stylish that if I move too much I might be sliced and stabbed to death by my undergarments.
24:55Oh, how joyful it is to be a lady.
24:58You are upset.
25:02Tis a viable option I have considered.
25:07Moving.
25:09Choosing to be killed by my undergarments.
25:10Charlotte.
25:11We have what? An hour to go? I believe if I am diligent with my movements, I could most certainly bleed to my death before we reach London.
25:18Like I said, you are upset. Emotional. I understand.
25:23Do you understand? Truly. This I would love to hear, because I am not upset nor am I emotional. I am angry and I cannot breathe. And both are thanks to you, brother.
25:32Charlotte. You were chosen. This is a great honour.
25:38How difficult was it to be chosen? Someone who can make lots of babies. Someone who can read. Someone with all the social graces. Someone with a royal bloodline. That is all they required. It is not an honour.
25:48And you could have told them to choose someone else. Someone stupid enough to want it.
25:51They did not want someone stupid. They wanted you.
25:53Adolphus, think. Why me? He could have anyone. Anyone. And yet they came hunting all the way across the continent for me.
26:02There is a reason for that. Because you are special. Special. I am a stranger to them. They are strangers to us. You cannot think me this ignorant.
26:11There is reason they wanted me a stranger. And it cannot be a good reason. I know it cannot be a good reason because you have not looked me in the eye since you told me.
26:21Just... This is a good thing. You shall be happy.
26:32Turn the carriage around. I am not doing this. I signed the betrothal contract. You are doing this. No. Yes.
26:36Brother, turn the carriage around or I will bounce. I will bounce and I will impale myself on this ridiculous corset and bleed to death!
26:43Charlotte!
26:44I know I should have taken a firmer hand with you when Mama and Papa died. I allowed you to read too much and I indulged your every whim and frivolity. So I take full responsibility for the fact that you are now exceedingly headstrong and mistakenly think you can make decisions. You cannot. I am in charge. This is happening.
27:05I do not see why you could not just... Because they are the British Empire. And we are a tiny province in Germany. We had no choice. I had no choice.
27:23There is no good reason. In fact, the reason might be terrible. I know that no one who looks like you or me has ever married one of these people. Ever. But I cannot question. Because I cannot make an enemy of the most powerful nation on earth. It is done. So shut up. Do your duty to our country.
27:52Do your duty to our country. And be happy.
28:05Liebchen.
28:13I am sorry. But there are worse fates than marrying the King of England.
28:22I am sorry.
28:23Sit back.
28:24Sit back.
28:25You are endangering my gown.
28:26I need to look perfect when I arrive. Do I not?
28:29I am sorry.
28:30I am sorry.
28:32Do I need to look perfect when I arrive. Do I not?
28:35that's a powerful scene that is powerful so i think seeing that gives us so much insight into
28:59into charlotte's character um and i want to go back to what we've been talking about about the
29:05relationship between you two what is it about lady danbury and queen charlotte that draws them
29:13together how are they similar and and how do they differ i mean we see in that clip alone what
29:20queen charlotte's sort of entering into the headspace that she's in the emotional there's it's
29:25just really complicated and uh and the characters forge a relationship within that so so can you
29:34talk to me about about their relationship and and did that happen naturally for the two of you um
29:41you talked about bringing that that to life bringing that friendship that sisterhood to life
29:45i mean i feel like on whether or not it happened naturally for us it it definitely did i think
29:53the moment she like walked into the chemistry read room we also both clocked each other and
30:00knew exactly which characters we were auditioning for so immediately we were able to chat and i think
30:07part of the audition they were like just have like a conversation you know and so we were kind of
30:11trying to find something that we were both you know we could chat at length about and we decide we were
30:17chatting about hair of course like how we take care of our hair come on hair is always okay that's
30:22it's gonna be a thing we start talking about yeah and so i think with that it made it kind of just
30:29and it was interesting because i have a younger sister she has an older sister and so we kind of
30:35i don't know it just happened naturally yeah yeah and i think going off from what you were saying as
30:41well you know going into um a casting space where you know majority of the time casting directors are
30:48of white descent um the industry is mainly you know in terms of the the create the creative and
30:56the crew side is mainly white people um to go into a space and then you recognize someone who looks
31:02like you is so comforting um and everyone in this room i'm sure can relate to the fact of you see
31:11another person of the same you know another black person the same ethnicity or you know and and you
31:18just automatically you can relate to them just from you know you've been through the same experiences
31:24and and it's it's like an automatic i've got you you know it's like automatic i understand you
31:30um and yeah to kind of walk into to a space where you already feel a little bit like oh i feel like i'm
31:37the only one here and then to see someone who also is probably going to understand this you know the
31:43experience that also you're going through yeah um is is such a crutch um and yeah i think in in the
31:50series kind of explores that even further in terms of charlotte coming from a from a place that is very
31:57kind of multicultural um and then into a society that's mainly made up made up of of white people
32:04and then lady agatha danbury's there and um is not um and again just automatically you you just
32:13understand that person and it's just uh it's a it's a pulling it's a it's a feeling of like i've got you
32:19and absolutely just yeah again understanding and i think that's such a relatable experience especially
32:25as black people right you so you are so used to walking into a room and scanning the room
32:31and saying and looking for somebody that looks like you and there's nothing like when you lock
32:36eyes with that person that looks like you and just you can have that unspoken moment of like i got you
32:40we don't know each other but we know each other right and that's just that's so beautiful i mean we
32:46know that lady danbury will one day be the most trusted confidant of the queen tell us about the
32:54beginning of the relationship i mean tell us about how you all brought that to life i think it is
33:02it comes from a place of like they're brought together not from their choice they're brought
33:11together because you know like somebody says oh agatha danbury's black bring her in they'll go get
33:20along great and i think that's the thing that happens a lot with when we're in like diverse
33:26spaces because there is this idea of like blackness as a monolith exactly like in the eyes of white
33:32people we are the same right and then we recognize with each other that like okay we're not yep but we
33:38can work together yeah to change something right like you put us together thinking that it was going to
33:45be an issue but in in reality we've now become so strong that we're going to change your world
33:51and i think that's what happens i love that thank you that's beautiful can we watch it now no i'm
33:59kidding you guys have me excited i'm like oh my goodness um um
34:05um i want to ask you a little bit about ajua ando obviously does an incredible job portraying
34:13lady danbury and i want to go back to what you were saying about once you realize the magnitude
34:19of this role and when you finally watched bridgerton um and and you got you know you got to a point
34:26where you could watch it and and you realized how she was portraying this character how did you make
34:31the role your own though how did you take it from how she's portraying it in the series to how you
34:36portray it in queen charlotte i mean i think with the help of both shonda um our amazing director
34:45tom verica um they both were really uh vocal about the fact that these had to be our own they were
34:52like just i mean because in reality there's 40 years difference like me at my age versus me 20 years
35:00ago completely different right you know right and so that was something that made it easy to kind of
35:08at least to not feel as though i am trying to step into shoes that are not mine it felt like i there
35:15were shoes there that are my size they may be a little bit similar but at least they're for me
35:20and so that was a really nice thing that kind of decreased the pressure also ajua was incredibly
35:29helpful you know even from the pronunciation of the name danbury or danbury or danbury you know
35:36like just chatting with her about those small things about what she envisioned for this character's
35:41like very like young upbringing and then seeing that it already matched mine right right and so
35:49it was a good collaboration that also had like very nice and clear boundaries so we it was never as
35:55though we were stepping on each other's toes we were just both creating this woman together i love
36:00that i love that we do have a clip of a young lady danbury do we not am i am i yes we do have a clip
36:10yeah all right let's check that i'm so i apologize i uh the carriage scene was not the young lady
36:17danbury but now we are going to go into that one
36:19i have your bath waiting mom you gave me no warning i had no warning we always have a warning
36:32not this time i had no warning because the butler gave me no warning this was spontaneous
36:38spontaneous is it not enough that i must endure that now i must endure that without warning
36:45at any time he said he had a surprise is this happened twice in one day i believe the surprise
36:53is why he was excited the butler says he received a letter from the palace
36:59the palace the palace that is the surprise you have been invited to the royal wedding
37:08corral have you gone mad it is true an invitation has arrived for you both i've already called for
37:15the modise she's on her way over she cannot make a new gown before tonight but she no you are mistaken
37:20our side and their side do not mix ever i am certain the ladies made at the basset said they received
37:27an invitation as well the dowager princess has invited our side well your side why i know not
37:34that there is more you are to attend the new queen as part of her court
37:40i think you'd better show me this letter
37:44wow
37:48i love that you do a fantastic job that is awesome
37:58so as you all come together how do you i i love what you said about black is not a monolith right
38:07um how do you all honor i mean you seem to have a really beautiful relationship
38:13personally how do you honor um your similarities as as both as characters and as people but then also
38:24um really take stock and portray your differences i mean because queen charlotte and lady danbury are
38:31are very different um but just have such a beautiful bond so how how are you able to bring
38:37that sisterhood together but then also really honor the differences of both women
38:41naturally i think um you know shonda and tom our director again did such a good job on this show
38:51um that it felt like we really didn't need to work too hard um which is such a massive relief
38:59when you're an actor and you step onto set and everything's already you know done for you you
39:04literally just have to do your part of of the job and you know as long as you have firm understanding
39:10in the script and you have a firm understanding of who your character is and the relationships and
39:15you know the emotion they're trying to evoke from the other person because as an actor that's
39:19all you're trying to do right like when you're in a scene you're just trying to what what am i trying
39:24to get from you in in that particular scene what am i what emotion am i trying to portray what am i
39:29trying to get from you that's that's kind of your intention when you go into any kind of scene
39:34um so the groundwork was already done for us tick um we just had to yeah basically be actors and
39:41and to get a firm understanding of who our characters were and how they exist in that but then yeah the
39:46the the the relationship was was was natural i think um you know i really respect arsema as a as a
39:53person and as an actor and then as the role i i respect danbury and i i respect everything that she
39:59kind of does and i think one of the most amazing things about danbury is that she sees charlotte as
40:06almost a um a catalyst or a um yeah an object that can be molded in order to make change um and you
40:18know i i can't and charlotte would never take full credit for how she turns out um to be as as a as a
40:25as a strong woman without the help of of danbury kind of giving her that that power and making her
40:32realize her power um so yeah and it was it was in the writing but it was also just in like
40:37understanding our characters and and i i i grew to love charlotte and i know you did as you know you
40:42grew to love lady danbury so yeah i think also like they're in different situations in their life
40:51which inherently makes everything different you know my character is has been married has kids
40:59you know it's a thing yeah she is isn't it always yeah uh and then she is coming into this very new
41:07marriage very young in a country she does not know and so immediately it means that we're coming
41:14into this relationship from two different places and i think that happens also naturally when you just
41:20make friends outside in the world like we were not the same right and there was something about her
41:27situation that i felt like i could help with and there was something about my situation that i knew
41:31she could help with and so it's not to say that it was transactional but it is a collaboration to say
41:39like we had the same goal and we knew we just had different tools and so we need them both together
41:45there's a lot of analogies today i'm sorry yeah she's so good at this i love that i love that
41:51so india let's talk about that a little bit in terms of your character um coming into this
41:57into this marriage when we when we meet queen charlotte in this series how do you think she
42:02feels about marriage does she believe in love i think the reason um as we saw in the clip why she's
42:09so upset with her brother about kind of you know this transactional um obligation he's he's made with
42:17british kind of informers to to kind of yeah to create better trade for her country i think the
42:25reason why she's so angry is because she does believe in love and she wants that choice and she
42:31she wants to make that for herself um or she wants to find that for herself um and the fact that she's
42:37not given that choice and you know something so inherently human um is is to be made kind of into a
42:46currency is is really um upsetting for her you know like historically charlotte had a she came
42:53from like a very beautiful family a very big family had lots of siblings um her parents were very much
43:00kind of in love and i think you know she probably grew up in a really loving household so she would
43:06have been around that and probably would have wanted that and wouldn't wouldn't know any different
43:10um so for for love to become something that is um used as as a pawn is is like really sad for her
43:19for it to feel transactional exactly yeah exactly yeah that makes a lot of sense so with that said
43:26what are some of the challenges that queen charlotte and george king george face in the early stages of
43:33their relationship sort of as she's coming into it it feels like it's not natural it feels like she's
43:39being forced into it so what do they struggle with as they sort of find their way in the early
43:43stages of their relationship yeah i mean listen i've never been married i i assume it's pretty
43:49difficult it's hard yeah yeah it's tough yeah um so probably all the normal problems with marriage
43:57not problems but like you know the joys the loving joys and um part of the ride yeah yeah the ride the
44:05journey right so it's about um yeah the the normal kind of highs and lows figuring out where you stand
44:13with someone what makes them tick um their love language you know everything that we kind of
44:18already know but also the fact that she was sent on a ship or in a carriage as we see in queen charlotte
44:24uh to meet a man and then marry him within six hours is its own beast um and you know she doesn't know
44:32him and this was historical as well that actually happened um she'd never met him he was older um
44:38she didn't i don't think she'd been even shown a picture of him um so it's about just getting to
44:45know someone for the first time but then also knowing that you have to be tied to them right is
44:52is kind of i don't know it's a little bit i think she feels quite trapped because she knows she has to
44:58make it work regardless thank god they actually fall in love right um which we will see um but um
45:05yeah it's it's it's just the perils of kind of the awkward first date but then it's marriage so it's
45:12everything is heightened right right okay so you say they they eventually fall in love and it would
45:17not be a shonda rhimes series without a little steamy some steamy scenes a little steam we saw a little
45:24bit of that in the trailer tell me about you know working with cory uh who portrays uh cory malcrest
45:30who portrays king charles king george um tell me about you know the dynamic how were you know did
45:37you guys have any did you have any discussions about you know the relationship the dynamic how
45:43you were gonna was it awkward what was it what was it like with cory's as the two characters fell in
45:49love and you're sort of portraying the steaminess of the scenes yeah well i mean like my relationship
45:54with arsema it's terrible you know i had a really bad time um no i you know what i part part of the
46:01the absolute pleasure of this job was that i think am i not sure shonda has a no arseholes policy like
46:09she does not work with people who are not just you know who are just not nice people um which as an
46:16actor is great because it just means that uh again makes our job easier because i'm not having
46:20to pretend that i've got a fake relationship with these people um and cory is is a very close friend
46:28um of mine now um and yeah i think the fact that he is so kind of similar to arsema just so
46:38well spoken so kind of um in in tune with his emotions um and is very understanding of allowing
46:48me to like take you know the the lead in in some of these scenes um most of these scenes um is is why
46:58i respect him so much and um yeah it was an absolute pleasure to to work with him um but we had
47:04intimacy coordinators um kind of to help us choreograph these um intimacy scenes um which
47:11takes all of the um the kind of awkwardness and the the uncomfortability away because
47:17you you kind of rehearse it like a dance and then once you rehearse it that part of your you know
47:26your brain or your understanding of how sex works is taken away because it's just another dance scene
47:30or it's another right you know scene that we've rehearsed there's no yeah it's it's just it's it's
47:36just another way of storytelling yep um and yeah again so fortunate that cory is um kind of really
47:43understanding and um very um he checked in a lot with me which i really appreciate that's great you
47:52know like he would always just make sure that i felt comfortable um and we would spend hours and hours
47:57like after after uh like a 12 hour 13 14 hour day we just go back to the hotel like get some chips
48:05talk about the scene like just really decompress the day which is super important because um you know
48:11we're filming for six months and you're pretending you are these people for six months you can lose
48:17track of yourself and you know i i'm an avid runner i i do ceramics like i have a whole other life outside of
48:25acting right um and it's so important and to kind of remember that um so the fact that you know me and
48:32are probably just gonna grab dinner later and just chill and talk about how cool this this day was
48:38you know it's it's super important yeah absolutely could have squeezed in one last question before we
48:43run out of time we've talked we've had we've talked about a ton um and i'm so excited about the
48:48series i want to know from each of you what do you hope audiences take away from this series
48:54especially coming from the popularity of bridgerton um what do you hope audiences take away from from
49:00the series arsenal let's start with you i think what i hope audiences take away is the importance of
49:14like how do you say it just because there's representation where you just throw random
49:23people into a thing and you hope it works and you're like yeah well it's diverse now and there's
49:30like representation where there is a thoughtful meticulous way that you bring people into this world
49:38and i hope that this people just realize that it it just can be different you know a lot of the
49:49times where you see black people brought into something where they're usually not it's because it's in
49:56proximity to whiteness you know and this one is them just being themselves and i think there is
50:03something really really amazing that could happen if people focus on the right stuff that this show
50:12could potentially just change a lot of things it could change i mean y'all we're talking about video
50:18games it could change the way we play video games it can change the way we do voiceover work it can
50:23change the way that we you know write articles about black stories who's writing them right you know it can
50:30change so many things if we allow it to and i'm just hoping that this show can catalyze
50:36something that's what we all hope is just like it just affects change absolutely i love that
50:42india did you want to add anything oh my gosh absolutely no like
50:52i'm out she said it perfectly well i want to can we just thank you so much to india and arsema
51:00for joining us today let's just yes absolutely and the big question right is when are we going to
51:06get to watch this fabulous fabulousness we on on may 4th 2023 on netflix check out queen charlotte
51:14a bridgerton story and these two lovely women are going to kill it thank you so much for being here with us
51:20thank you
51:21thank you
51:23thank you
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