‘Bridgerton’ Star Yerin Ha Reveals What Her ‘First Thought’ Was When She Was Cast as Sophie

Being cast in Bridgerton was a whirlwind for Yerin Ha.

The Australian actress, 28, plays Sophie Baek, the love interest for Benedict (Luke Thompson) in season 4 of the hit Netflix series.

Ahead of the season’s premiere on Thursday, Jan. 29, Ha recalled the ups and downs of her audition process and the overwhelming feeling that came with being cast in a new InStyle cover.

“I thought my British accent was terrible,” she told the outlet of her audition tape, which she recorded and submitted within 24 hours of her agent sending it to her.

She didn’t exactly feel much better about the chemistry read callback either. She logged onto the Zoom call with Thompson, 37, at 11 p.m. local time from Korea, and was “loopy.”

Thompson’s memory serves him differently, though. “I just remember feeling, despite the artifice of an audition, the Zoom delay, and shaky internet connection, that we were actually talking to each other,” he told the outlet of his first impression of Ha.

“I just assumed that [Thompson] probably had a day full of auditions, and he must be tired. So I didn’t want to waste his time. I didn’t even really have chit-chat. I just got straight into the scene,” Ha said of the chemistry read.

After she was cast, Ha told InStyle that she read An Offer from a Gentleman, the book in Julia Quinn’s series that follows Benedict’s love story, in one sitting.

Once she knew how Benedict and Sophie’s story unfolded, the nerves set in. “My first thought was, ‘Oh no, the intimacy scenes,’ ” she said.

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“Being a woman in this industry, it’s a massive thing. People think that they have the right to talk about your body, how you look, and your external appearance,” Ha said. “I’ve dealt with body image and that shame for a very, very long time — and I’m still working through it.”

Despite how daunting it seemed at first, she shared that Bridgerton, and Sophie in particular, has taught her “a lot about self-love and self-acceptance.”

Part 1 of Bridgerton season 4 premieres Jan. 29 on Netflix, followed by Part 2 on Feb. 26.