India Amarteifio on becoming Queen Charlotte: ‘I had a lot of leeway’
TheGrio caught up with the actress and her co-star Corey Mylchreest ahead of the "Bridgerton" prequel's debut on Netflix.
A new Queen Charlotte has arrived! TheGrio caught up with India Amarteifio, the actress playing young Queen Charlotte in Netflix’s hot new series, “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story,” as well as her fellow leading actor, Corey Mylchreest, breaking down their approach to the prequel.
As theGrio previously reported, “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” is the first spinoff in the popular Shondaland franchise. Like the two seasons in the original series, this show from Shonda Rhimes focuses on a Regency-era romance, complete with lush string quartet music, dazzling period costumes and plenty of chemistry.
Unlike the original series, which follows the Bridgerton family, this show homes in on the fan-favorite character from that series, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), pulling back the curtain on her love story and eventual rise to the throne.
“I was in the shower,” Amarteifio said, recalling when she learned that she’d nabbed the role. “I got a call quite late on in the day and here we are! It was still a shock and I think it always will be.”
The character of Charlotte is rooted in Rosheuvel’s portrayal, giving Amarteifio a reference point but also granting her space to make Charlotte her own. “There wasn’t too much back and forth because there is so much time between these characters,” she explained. “They are two different entities almost and our creative team was very kind of poignant in stating that they didn’t want me to copy any of her characterizations so I had a lot of leeway in creating Charlotte.”
She added, “There have to be just little flickers of, ‘Oh, that’s Charlotte from ‘Brigderton,’ and I think a lot of that comes through in the writing, too, so thank you Shonda!”
Breaking down his approach to playing Charlotte’s love, King George, Mylchreest explained, “George is a man who has a really, really conflicted relationship with duty and responsibilities as king and pressures of the crown.”
He noted that the costumes helped him in his kingly role but that came with a cost. “The clothes were really uncomfortable!,” he exclaimed. “Nothing compared to what India had to go through, but it was tough! But as the actor to think, ‘Oh, this isn’t so comfortable,’ it was really useful to lean into that energy.”
Amarteifio agreed, disclosing that one layer of her clothing in particular was challenging. “What’s more is the added corset on top of that and that restricting you not only as a character but as an actor,” she said. “It influences character.”
All episodes of “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” are currently streaming on Netflix.
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