June 29, 2023 • 60 mins
In this episode of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, the Official Podcast, we sit down with India Amarteifio and Golda Rosheuvel, the women who brought Queen Charlotte to life. The actresses take us behind the scenes, revealing the joys and surprises they encountered on set, and within.
As we explore their favorite memories working alongside their castmates, we discover the profound impact that portraying Queen Charlotte had on India and Golda. They discuss the responsibility they felt in portraying a historical figure and how they infused their own artistry to create an unforgettable fantasy.
Join us for these intimate chats as we celebrate the talent and dedication of the cast and crew and gain a deeper appreciation for the transformative power of Shondaland's storytelling.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Queen Charlotte. The Official Podcast is a production of Shondaland
Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio, He Love and a Warm, Warm,
Warm Welcome to Queen Charlotte, a British Story the official Podcast.
(00:23):
I'm your host, Gabby Collins, and on this episode, I
am thrilled to share two conversations with you. I got
to spend some time with the two remarkable queens that
brought to life one of the most captivating and influential
characters of the Bridge Reverse Queen Charlotte. It is an
absolute pleasure to delve into the world of these talented
(00:46):
actresses who have masterfully embodied this enigmatic you know, leaving
audiences spelled bound with their performance over the topious Queen
Queen Charlotte. It's an honor to happen with us and
we can't wait to hear their insight, their experiences, and
(01:07):
the shimmering brilliance that they bring to screen. So let's
just get right on in. Welcome India. How are you
doing today.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
I'm doing very well. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
It's really good to have you. I just wanted to
start off by saying you absolutely exude a Swan like
essence of a young queen Charlotte.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Oh, thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Thank you, probably ingrained in me for like another ten
years or so, but yeah, yeah, I'll take that as
a compliment.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
You know, so you had to walk into a room
for how many days as like the centerpiece and holding
up so much of the story and the scenes. How
does that inform you of yourself? Did you surprise yourself
in any way? Are you more brazen than you thought
(02:04):
you ever were?
Speaker 3 (02:06):
I think she taught me a lot. She taught me
about just being okay with emotions and being okay with
not being okay, and actually normalizing the fact that not
everyone feels one hundred percent all the time. And you know,
(02:26):
in those moments when she is dancing and she's moving,
it's it's incredibly surreal for her, I think, and it's
it's it's probably all very too much, which ey as
India can get very overwhelmed by large crowds and large
groups of people, especially when there's attention only on you.
But you know the fact that she kind of defies
(02:47):
those those feelings and pushes against it and great outcomes
come from that kind of taught me that, Hey, Okay,
you may be feeling uncomfortable and said situation, but pushed
through And yeah, you know, only greatness can come from
working outside of your comfort zone, which I'm notorious for
(03:08):
staying in because she's nice and safe and comfortable and
I like her. But yeah, I don't feel like I've
made significant changes to my life and just me as
a person from stepping outside of my comfort zone.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
And this job was one of them.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
I think there aren't many jobs that are as scary
to take on as this in all the spectrums, you know,
the most amazing feeling to the most terrifying feeling of
like taking on this massive role. So yeah, it just
showed me that I should continue to push outside of
my little circle of safety.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yeah, you said something that's interesting. You said that emotions
are okay.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Yeah, do you mean by that?
Speaker 2 (03:51):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
I had a very weird feeling whenever I felt a
huge sense of any type of emotion, whether that's a
complete enjoyjoyment, you know, terror, horror, being nervous, being afraid,
being scared. I always kind of masked that, and I
didn't really realize that I did that, And I guess
that influenced my acting because it meant that I wasn't
(04:17):
able to open up. I wasn't able to explore these
emotions to create another person, let alone you know, reflect
on my own experiences feeling certain feelings. But with Charlotte
and with this job I was with her for six months,
I was creating a whole person. I had to know
exactly how she felt in all situations, what nerves felt
like to her, and how she displayed that, what elation
(04:38):
felt like to her, and how she displayed that. So
for me, I had to feel that as India and
go through that and really kind of recount on my
life in those moments where I've maybe masked how I
was feeling just because I don't know. I thought it
was a bit cringe to be vulnerable or to show
my emotions completely, because it does put you in a
(04:59):
scary position of you know, people judging.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
You or being able to use something against you.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
But she made me a lot more empathic, and she
made me discover that actually I am quite an emotional person.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I never thought I was.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I thought I was quite straight laced, and you know,
I'll just get on with things and quite britt you know,
have that very British mentality of you know, just just
go and do your job or just you just keep
pushing through things. But actually I'm highly sensitive and I
think it's actually been beautiful. It's opened my eyes to
(05:33):
the world. I've traveled more than I have, and I've
got to meet people and really understand people and really
getting to know what humans are like through through getting
to know her and getting to know emotions. So I
feel a lot of pride and a lot of gratitude
when I think about her and Chonda's writing and her work,
(05:54):
because it's, yeah, it's not only helped me as an actor,
but as a human, which again is you know, going
to only help me in my job be a better
and more honest and open person.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
There were scenes with you and Corey you in Arsama
where I felt like I wasn't supposed to be in
the room, which is I mean, what the mark of
a really good moment, right, mm hmm. Tell me about
that and working with Corey working with Arsama, the moments
for you that felt the most freeing or light or
(06:28):
were you grey able to just get lost in that moment.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
You sit with a character for six months and I think.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
You do you do lose yourself in the best way
and sometimes in bad ways because you leave a job
when you go what is my existence as India? But
I felt, you know, especially towards the end of filming,
so easy to access her and just to you know,
completely delve into this world. A lot of the scenes
that I felt I was completely kind of engross and
(06:59):
Shonda writes in a way that is almost incredibly theatrical.
She makes you know, ten minute scenes, six minute scenes,
which are so detailed, so intricate, and you get them
and you see them on a page and you're like, right,
I know this is an important scene because of this
bus and this We've spoken about this, we've tackled this,
we need to get from here to here, and then
(07:19):
by the end of the scene were completely different places.
And it's about working together as a team, and especially
with Corey. Actually, we really really worked hard in the
evenings after filming.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
You know, we'd sit for a couple hours.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
And just delve into the scenes that are coming up,
and we'd make sure we were prepped and knew why
we were doing the scenes and making sure we hit
every important beat and kind of quizzing each other on
why the scenes.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Are what they are.
Speaker 5 (07:44):
Oh I live for that.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Yeah, yeah, that's what a lot of I mean, that's
how we were trained. Corey was trained theatrically. I was
trained theatrically. And that's how you break down the script.
You you know, you annotate it, you give it a purpose,
you put it into perspective of both characters, and you
workshop around it and you find out ways and you
come up with ideas of how you could do it
on the day. But then also you know, leave it
(08:06):
to the director's interpretation and also the energy that both
of you bring on the day.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
But a lot of work goes into it.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
A lot a lot of work goes into it, and
it has to because a lot of it isn't spoken.
I think that's what's great about Schaumba's writing. A lot
of it is in the gestures, the eye contact, the
the no speaking, the silences, the pauses, and those are
the bits that can often be missed but are incredibly
important and you know, tell a lot more about about
(08:34):
how someone's feeling in that situation then words can.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
And I think that's the beauty of it.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
And I think that's why this show just you know,
satisfies those Taste Buds because it says what we're all thinking,
and sometimes we're too afraid to say out loud.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
One of the things I'm not sure how to explain
out loud is the moment between you as Queen Charlotte
and Arsama as Young Agatha, young Lady Agatha Denver at
this point, and she comes up to you and she's
basically making a case. She's basically making a case to
(09:08):
have the ball be thrown the first ball, and it's
a moment where she's teaching young Charlotte about her privilege
and what responsibility she has to act with it. What
was the conversation the two of you had to really
dig into that scene, because it speaks volumes today.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
I don't think we actually did, you know. I know
we ran lines again, delved into its importance. But there's
something about the black woman's experience in every culture you know,
in Britain and America, that one doesn't even really need to.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Say anything.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
It's just an understanding, an immediate sense of I understand
what this person's going through. And for some of the scenes,
especially like that, for me, I didn't work a lot
on them because I wanted that natural reaction to someone
actually saying it out loud.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Sometimes that really works.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
There are a couple of scenes where I'm like, I'm
going to I'm going to just you know, power my line,
so I'm not thinking about the lines, and most of
the time, I'm just letting the other actor affect my choices.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
And that was one of the.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Scenes I knew, you know what I was saying. My
objective was with George and what on earth he was doing,
and I was going to you know, the turn. The
head turn was when she starts talking to me about
the actual pressing topics. So you know, I used that.
I use that sense of like I don't actually know
what she's going to say. I'm not going to look
at what us M is saying that day. I'm going
(10:48):
to let her words inform my reaction. And it was
completely natural. You know, I am Charlotte, but I'm also
taking in what she's saying for the first time. There's
a lot of scenes like that where I'd read it
and I was like, I don't want to read the
other person's like, I don't want to do that. I
just I just want to I just want to be
I want to go through that that ride in that
journey and find where Charlotte sits in there.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Oh, that's really interesting. I'm wondering if one of those
scenes is in episode six, young Charlotte's pregnant, she you know,
goes to young George and she's basically asking him, you know,
what is wrong with you? And it ends in a
you know, beautiful emotional moment, but he's hurling, he's hurling
(11:32):
at you.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
Is that one of those scenes that you yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
M hm, yeah, yeah, And you can tell I do
not want you.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
I want never to see you leave, get out. I
order you.
Speaker 6 (11:50):
No, George, Charlotte, you cannot force me away.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
I will not go.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
I commanded girl.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
I will stay. I command it.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
There's a way of, you know, the first time you
hear something being said out lies, you really are in
intent and you're you're really kind of interested in focus
on what they're saying.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
It's another one I.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Think people people will will see now maybe if they
go and rewatch it, which hopefully they do. The scenes
that you can just really tell that both people are
in the room, they're present, and they're thinking. They're not
thinking what's my next line. It's like, no, my intention
is to you, and you only, and that is perfect example.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
So let's talk about working with Tanji Tunji. Cassim yay,
your brother, young Charlotte's brother, Adolphus. I absolutely love the
Chrriacter scene. With the two of you.
Speaker 7 (12:42):
You give the appearance of a statue.
Speaker 6 (12:44):
Statues are workspart art is beautiful.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Art can be beautiful to gaze upon. You are ridiculous
to the eye.
Speaker 6 (12:52):
Is there a point you.
Speaker 7 (12:54):
Have not moved an inch in six hours?
Speaker 6 (12:56):
I'm wearing leonae silk encrusted with Indian sapphi is working
with overlay of two hundred year old lace. Apparently too
much movement can cause the sapphires to shred the lace.
If that were not enough, the gown sits atop of
bespoke underpinning made of whalebone. Whal yes, whalebone, brother, the
bones of whales. Whales died so I could look like this.
(13:20):
All the finest corsets are whalebone. You would know that
if you knew anything.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
You are dancing with the with the script. Actually you're
more like a kitten with a fall of yarn with
the script. In that scene, it's someone used the words
you are still but just still really just effervescent with
(13:45):
with your delivery, and I am curious about the back
and forth between you and and Cassime in preparation for
that scene, and and if we could also talk about
how you stand up for that character in episode six
when you confront our summer as young.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Yeah, I mean, Tunji is one of the best people
I ever worked with. He is so experienced, so level headed,
you know, so ingrained in the.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Work, but also up for just having a laugh.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
And he's incredibly intelligent and it was an absolute joy
to spend time with him.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
And I feel like I.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Don't get to speak to him enough and speak about
him enough, actually, but he was vital, vital in making
that scene as impactful as it is.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
But we tried.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
We did that scene all day. I think I had
a very short scene in the morning with Corey and
then yeah, we had a whole day dedicated to that
scene again because it's so important, and it's almost as
important as the meet you. You know, you're discovering Charlotte
for the first time and who she is and her
relationship and you know the world that we're about to
(15:01):
start building again. It was another scene that we just
hammered the lines like we knew them back to front.
They were my audition scenes, so I'd known them for
you know, months and months and months, and it was
ingrained in my soul by then, So the lines weren't
a problem. It was more bringing something new and fresh
to each take, because you know, sometimes when you're saying
(15:22):
the same thing, you can get into a bit of
a rut and you have the same cadence of how
you're saying anything. And it was just about breaking that
mold and changing that. But that was you know, only
through Tunji's excellence and Tom's direction and everyone around us
kind of each take wanting a new, fresh, you know,
idea and spark, and we did so many different takes,
(15:43):
Tunji just going completely ham basically, and he's just like,
let's completely loose, and his anger and his frustration and
everything comes on to her and then she's left kind
of quite meekly in the corner, going sorry like we
And then we did ones where he kept very level
headed and she was you know, up here and she
held the upper hand and very very interesting to go
(16:05):
through the day and go through different types of you know,
power and differences between the pair, and then I think,
you know, she realizes again a bit like with Agatha,
like there's only a certain amount of people in society
that will relate to her and her experiences, and one
of her one of those people is her brother.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
And I think she really takes it to heart that, you.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Know, the whole thing with Lady Danbury doesn't work out
between him and her. But I think it's also a
moment where she uses her power and she realizes her
power in that instant.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Lady Danbury has been telling her you you know, you're
the first of your kind.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
You're this, you're that, and this is the first time
she's she's kind of openly expressing it to this person
who's asked her to step up to the plane. She's like, listen,
you wanted me to be this way. You you were
the person who wanted me to take the stance and
to be strong and to lead my people. This is
me leading my people and you're one of them. Don't
forget that. So I think it was just, you know,
(17:02):
a vessel almost in order for her to push that.
And she does love her brother, and I think she
is probably quite grateful by the end.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
That everything kind of worked out.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
She is with the love of her life and it's
not the ending and it's not the life that she
maybe would wish for. However, she now is either figurehead
in society and she's part of all this change and she's.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
New and yeah, I think there's a lot for her
to be grateful to him for.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
We'll be right back with Marchia chat with India and
Martifia after this short break listening to Queen Charlotte Bridgeston
(18:01):
Story the official podcast. Before we get back into our
conversation with India, m R Tifo, let's just take a
quick moment to hear this note from the casting director
Kelly Valentine Hendry.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
When India's tape landed. There was one of I'll never
forget that. I mean, she is young Queen Charlotte, she
is young Goulder.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Since you love character deep dives, if we had to
choose a moment when young Charlotte comes into her own
in these six episodes, which I think we know like
she's going to grow more over the next few decades,
right for me, it would be the moment she finds
young George in the garden and she just kind of
(18:44):
looks down and makes a choice right there. That's she's
choosing to stick with him and care for him. What
was that moment for.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
You two, That one for sure, because that is her
in that split second deciding, Okay, I'm I'm all in
now I'm not if I wasn't before, I'm all in.
I care too much about this person to let this
affect my image of them, to let me not see
(19:13):
past someone that is in need of help and that
I want to be that person for them. But also
the moment she she locks eyes with him at the
end of the altar, and she she's only you know,
I think she's almost expecting someone at the that's someone
to be I don't know, intimidated, taken aback, you know,
(19:35):
not up for it anymore. But all she sees is
just adoring eyes and someone someone completely accepting her and
accepting her in the way that she wants to be presented,
in the way that she wants to be presented. And
you know, for him to to be so open and
to be so yeah, inviting of someone who is bearing
(19:57):
all I think for her, she's like, this is someone
that I can trust, This is someone that can see
me for me finally, and it will accept me for me,
and that I am enough as I am. Even if
she is more, then she's a lot more than I
think anyone was expecting. Well we know, especially her mother
in law. But yeah, those two moments I think just
(20:18):
helped solidify their union.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Yeah, you completely took my breath away in that moment.
I was just like, oh, Wow, this young person who's
supposed to be seventeen is just so completely aware of
marriage in being in a committed relationship. That was really amazing.
(20:44):
It was a really amazing moment.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Yeah, it was amazing to film as well.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Yeah, was that outside or were you guys inside and
all it for that?
Speaker 2 (20:53):
We were inside and all it baby? Really Yeah? Yeah,
it was in.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Oxford on dinner in a real church. It was absolutely sunning.
And yeah, the lighting and the cinematography just really came together. Wow,
it was a very magical moment. We have a load
of essays as well that day. It was like the
most essays we've ever had.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
WHOA, Is there anything about the last episode, episode six.
Speaker 5 (21:20):
That for you.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Is like a full circle moment for you as a
performer as a storyteller? Does is there anything that you
take away from the final episode of the show.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
The last scene right the last scene under the bed,
I think as an actor, as an audience member, as
Charlotte looking at George, there's just for me, it was
completely you know, full circle. I was like, Okay, this
is this is why we've done the job, this is
this is this is very very special. Yeah, I think
(21:58):
it just showed it's incredibly bittersweet and like such an understatement,
but you know, you've just seen, you know, more than
seven hours worth of content showing that these two people
are destined to be together, yet they are in such
different journeys, such different headspaces, such different paths, such different
(22:20):
places that it's it's it's heartbreaking because you know they
desperately want to be together, but there's something in the way.
And I feel like when there's that object in the way,
there's always it always makes things more exciting because you're
always wanting to know how to get there. And you know,
we start knowing that they have a love a beautiful
love story, and that he's you know, incredibly challenged, but
(22:42):
we don't get the backstory, and then we see it
in Queen Charlotte, and then you know, it brings it
full circle.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
So I think in that sense, it gives.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
It gives purpose and it shows, Yeah, it gives the
whole series purpose. It shows that this love is one
for the history books and is meant to last. But also,
you know, for me playing a younger character, it's it's
very it's not common to see you're an older counterpart
and then to see them portray the same same scene.
(23:15):
It felt like I was seeing her future seeing my future,
which was very very bizarre and amazing as well, to
show that, you know, their love still does stand the
test of time, and although he continues to descend, she
can still have those glimmers, she still can have those
(23:36):
memories in those moments with him, and I think that's
what she does it for. It's those little you know,
those flickers of his presence still being there, very very important.
Apart from it being incredibly sad and making everyone bloody, including.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Me, Yeah, it was. It was.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
It was great, It was amazing, and I got to
see it all happen as well, so it was it
was very special.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Yeah, definitely a lesson in life.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
I really did.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
I took away the same thing that you hold onto
those glimmers, but that choice, that choice to love and
that choice to stay and not go over the wall
is my biggest takeaway from this series. I think you
can apply that to so many different scenarios and work
in life.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Is there a wall that you did go over in
life in your short life, any walls that you said,
you know what, let me get over this way, let me.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Just I don't think. I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
I think I am quite meticulous. I'm a quite a
meticulous planner, and I don't usually do things I don't
want to do. That is one thing my mother gave me.
She didn't give me the looks. She gave me her subness.
I can be quite set in my ways. I don't
think so climbing over the walls.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
No, No, I try.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
I just try and tackle things. Problems come, I try,
and I try and figure out a way to work
with them rather than work against them.
Speaker 5 (25:10):
A true rare jewel.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Thank you very much. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
I keep forgetting about that really really important scene until
the end, which is just so powerful.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
So is there any favorite off set rendezvous or fun
that you've had with your castmates. I had a fun
talk with Sam Clement and Freddie Dennis. They told me
this wild story about cows.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Oh god, what.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
I missed a big chunk of it. But it was
so funny, just because they were laughing so hard.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Okay, I'm glad, I'm glad they found it funny.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
They decided.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
So we hired an airbnb it's like a verbo in
a vr bo for our last two weeks for filming,
and I decided it was a great idea to live
with the boys. And I what a decision I made.
That was Maybe that was maybe where I should have
run over the wall.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
It was. It was great.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
I think there was one evening we got back really
late and we were all cooking our separate dinners. Corey
had made an abomination, that is what it was.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
It was rice.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Corn like you know, like vegetarian meat with veg in
tomato sauce. And then he got Brand flakes, crushed up
Brand flakes, sprinkled them on top and put it in
the microwave.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
So that was his dinner.
Speaker 4 (26:49):
My dinner was.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
My dinner was a potato salad.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
Sam had cooked a beautiful like salmon, rice and vege
and everything, and then.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
He wasn't eating and I said, where is your dinner?
Speaker 3 (27:02):
And he said, oh, I I left it in the
kitchen so I'd finished my dinner and I took my
plate to the kitchen and I was trying to look
for his dinner and I could smell past it, but
I couldn't see it. And I went to go and
wash my hands in the sink and I looked at
the sink and he had just poured his pasta into
the sink and left it just cooked pasta in the sink.
(27:24):
And I think he was going back to eat it,
but it was just left, not in a bowl, just
like you know, in the plug hole with all the soap.
And I took a picture and it was fantastic. But
that was That was an interesting evening. I think we
were delirious. We've been filming night shoots. So I'll give him,
I'll give him a I'll give him a brief, you know,
I'll let him.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I'll let him rest. But that was crazy. I do
have to admit it was.
Speaker 5 (27:48):
That was nuts.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
It's really nice that you all had time to just
connect away from from it all for a little bit.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
Yeah, for sure, for sure, to build a rapport.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
And yah h, I think that the number one thing
over the last few years in hearing about life on
set with Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte. Is that it's always
centered around food, like where are we going to get
some food? And the good times around a good meal.
Did you have any kinds of conversations that were very
(28:21):
eye opening that you were able to take back with
you that have really just stuck with you away from
working on the show during the show, Just to.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
Enjoy it, enjoy the right, Yeah, which is you know,
a lot easier said than done when you've got traveling,
you've got to make certain deadlines, and you've got this
and that, and you're meeting people. But actually just to
take a breather and sit back and take it all
in and just go, wow, Okay, we really did something
really cool here, and yeah, to enjoy all the all
(28:52):
the pros that come that come with it, And yeah,
I need to remember to do that more often.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Do you have any last thoughts about working on the show,
working with your castmates?
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Really just that I I've had a really amazing time,
and I hope people will continue to watch the show
and to love it as much as we did making it.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
We're all going to go binge it again. Yeah, Thank you, India.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Thank you so so much.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
I'm going to refresh my tea.
Speaker 5 (29:27):
You should do the same.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
We're going to speak with Golda Rochevel, So come right
back after this break. We're back with Queen Charlotte A
Bridgeton Story, the official podcast, and we're talking to Golder Rochevel,
who's here today to talk about reprising her role in
(29:49):
Queen Charlotte A Bridgeton Story.
Speaker 5 (29:52):
Hi girl, Hi, Hi, Hey, how are you.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
I'm good bybe very very good. Good to talk, good to.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
It's so good, it's so good to talk with you.
I still revisit our last conversation for sustenance.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
Yeah yeah, yeah, oh yeah, and that one with addu
that was that was the last one was with Addie,
wasn't it. Yeah? Coolah a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Now it was a whole lot of life and work
has happened since then.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
That's true, true, true talk true to Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Back then, I don't know if you knew that there
were big plans for your character.
Speaker 5 (30:38):
Did you know?
Speaker 4 (30:39):
Did you have any I had no idea. I had
no idea. You know, I don't know, you just kind
of I don't know. My life has just been, you know,
chugging along doing the work. And being really happy with that.
You know, I love to work, like you know, my profession.
(31:01):
I adore it. I adore the you know, the kind
of investigation of characters and humanity and how we are.
And I think, you know, maybe I've said this to
you before, but I've definitely said this in interviews before,
is that I really truly believe that an actor's superpower
is empathy. You know, so I really I love to
(31:24):
find that within my characters. So the work becomes really
something that I'm really passionate about and that I really
advocate for these characters. So Charlotte was no different for me.
You know, I worked on her, I developed her. I
really cherished our journey together in creation, in bringing her
(31:48):
to life, in bringing you know, Shonda Rhime's Chris van Dusen,
you know, if we're talking about right at the beginning,
you know, their vision and even like Julia Quinn and
her world and bringing that to life within this character
that had been placed into her world.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
You know.
Speaker 4 (32:06):
So cut to Shonda Rhimes going, yeah, we'd like to
do a spin off of your character. I mean that's
like when you put that amount of working and you
really care about what you do and how you want
to do it. It's it's a real dream come true,
(32:28):
you know, and a real kind of validation of me
as an artist, you know, and what I dedicate to
do every single day. I walk hand in hand with
these characters. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Yeah, when you when you say validation, I don't think
of like, oh, she's finally getting like her flowers, because
if you know, you know, if you know Golder, you
know Golder, like.
Speaker 4 (32:59):
You think, there's always you know, ask any actor, there's
always wobbles and imposter syndrome, and you know, am I
am I worthy of this? Is it? Right? That's that's
it's part of being an actor that insecurity, you know.
So there's always that of going am I doing it?
Speaker 5 (33:23):
Justice?
Speaker 4 (33:24):
Am I doing the writing?
Speaker 5 (33:27):
Justice?
Speaker 4 (33:27):
Am I doing the character? Justice? You know? Right? So
that's what I mean in terms of validation. It's like, yeah, Okay,
I've done I've done an okay job. I think, Yeah,
that's that. This seems really this seems as though it's
going really well.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
I was wondering if you found yourself exploring Charlotte any differently,
or if you thought of her any differently with this,
like you said, cut to you or doing a whole
deep dive. Did you have to reshuffle some thoughts you
had originally?
Speaker 4 (33:58):
No, I didn't if any thing. It was the other
way around. It was really kind of collecting the information
that was then given to me, you know, because when
you work on a character and you don't have the
physical representations of that backstory, it's always there you work
on it. So, you know, for Charlotte, she had in
(34:21):
my mind, she had her family, she had her children,
There was a life. There was stuff going on behind
the scenes of Bridgeton, of all the balls and the
presentations and the tea parties. There was stuff there. But
I kind of describe it as it's kind of in
the darkness, you know, and Shonda Rhymes brought it all
(34:43):
into the light. Yeah, you know, but it's always been there,
but now it's physicalized. The imagination has been physicalized through
Shonda's writing.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
It does feel like her writing sometimes and your performance
are just I mean, this sounds so like obvious, right,
but it's just like hand in. But I wonder sometimes
if something that she kind of built into Charlotte was
inspired by maybe a way you twisted your mouth in
(35:18):
season two or something like that, you know, like that
made her think, oh, she's you know, she doesn't like
strawberries because George.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I'm sure there's an element of that
within a writer, you know, because the originator is still
there and still living and breathing the character. Schonder is
so good, as you say, joining me and the character
together and allowing us, through her writing, to be able
(35:48):
to walk hand in hand. You know, Charlotte's now become
an entity of on her own for really, you know,
she really is, has is established and in some ways
leads me the actress, you know, as well as I
lead her that I very much kind of wanted to
(36:11):
create that openness for her to do that, to be
able to stand and I think because of her character
as well, you know, and that's in the writing as
well as me playing that. She is a stand alone,
you know, woman who knows exactly what she wants. She's unapologetic,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
You know, you seem to always just show up in
such a very like, completely all their kind of way,
even if you know it can't touch you through the screen.
I was wondering if you had any if similarly you
worked with the costume.
Speaker 4 (36:47):
You know, in Bridgeton, I have a lot of collaboration
because we have time to work on the wigs and stuff,
and we have lots and lots of fittings. We had
that on Charlotte as well, and I'm very much involved
in in that kind of stuff and how how things
(37:07):
are put on my head and the weight of things
and or you know all of that. So, yes, there
is a collaboration. Charlotte needs to be able to walk,
do you know what I mean? She has a certain
way of like, yeah, she's like going, so that you
need to be taken into consideration. Shoes are a big
thing to me. I like my shoes to be on
(37:29):
my feet. I don't like any kind of slippage or
anything like that if I feel like I'm unbalanced. I'm
unbalanced already with the wigs and you know the size
of the costume, so my feet need to be in
those shoes like they need to be part of me.
So those are the only kind of things that I
collaborate on for the costume. But yeah, mainly the wigs
(37:51):
stuff is I find that really interesting, especially using like
dreadlocks and textured hair and plaits and all of that
trying to get all of that stuff in is really
really important.
Speaker 1 (38:03):
You are a lot more black this time too.
Speaker 4 (38:06):
Yeah, which I think is really interesting because Charlotte is
very much It's very personal, isn't it. The show It's
very intimate, and I think with that intimacy, the color
palette had to change, you know. Oh yes, yeah, we
drew the curtain over the windows a little bit to
(38:26):
kind of create that personal that private in she's grieving
the death of her granddaughter. But there was a conscious
decision to change that palette. So it wasn't as vibrant
as Bridgeton. You know, we were seeing her as a woman,
as a mother, you know, we were seeing her private life.
(38:51):
So those curtains had to be drawn a little bit
just to take out that light.
Speaker 7 (38:56):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
Yeah, yeah, I found that really interesting. But yeah, it
was still beautiful. It was still lush, and you know,
really it's still vibrant there, it's you know, but yet
the personal is it just tinged a little darker.
Speaker 5 (39:12):
It definitely did.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
And I was amazed at how in your funeral gown
it was. I was still able to see so much detail,
all the beating and the shimmery and it was it
was black, but there was.
Speaker 5 (39:27):
Nothing that I couldn't see.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
It was amazing, beautiful, beautiful. Yeah, I'm very honored to
wear those.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
Wow, you know, it's so funny you brought up shoes.
Lynn Pawla was talking about how she absolutely loved working
on the shoes for this show, and it's it's too
bad we didn't.
Speaker 5 (39:45):
Get to see more.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
Yeah, did you have any favorite pieces or.
Speaker 4 (39:52):
My favorite pieces are my ug boots when I'm sitting down.
Con fact, whenever the Queen is sitting down using ug boots.
Let me reveal that right now, any form of comfort
Golden Roschavel can get while playing this part, I will
go there, so know this world ug boots.
Speaker 5 (40:15):
That is sweet.
Speaker 4 (40:23):
Yeah, true, it's true.
Speaker 1 (40:27):
Now I'm wondering if they're so okay. I'm trying to
think of, Oh so that that scene where you are
having tea with Lady Danbury playing.
Speaker 4 (40:38):
Ug boots. I'm always like, when I'm sitting down, I'm
always like, can you see my feet? Can you see
my feet? Are you going down there? Where's the camera?
Speaker 5 (40:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (40:49):
Maybe you got to you gotta get it where you
can get it.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
I'm telling you, I will now look at the tea
scene in the greenhouse completely differently.
Speaker 4 (40:59):
Yeah, and so one where my kids are telling me
off downs, Oh.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
That reminds me Golda a little Birdie told me that
you and Hugh Sax have a very special relationship on
and offset And I've got to tell you, the two
of you on screen just.
Speaker 5 (41:22):
Mind blowing magical. Oh my god, you two he.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
Is and and the and the both of you together.
There are there are a few scenes where Mayan it
really stops everyone in their tracks. And so I'm really
curious about your perspective on some of these scenes and
what was going through the Queen's mind, and also what
(41:50):
you and Hugh, how you and Hugh work together. I
think listeners would love to hear how the sauce is made,
because you're what, you are, so thoughtful.
Speaker 4 (42:00):
Yeah, so h and I you rightly say we are
best best mates on and off the screen. Like when
we we I knew him, we kind of knew of
each other so at like you know, events or theater
events or whatever. If I saw him it would be like,
(42:21):
you know, a nice kind of polite nod and how
are you kind of thing. But then getting to work
with him was something really really special. He is just phenomenal,
and you know in Bridgeton, like he's one of our
biggest actors over here. But yet you know, he took
this part that had no words, no lines. But yet
(42:47):
you know, in Bridgeton we worked so hard on that relationship.
You know, what is the silence between them? How is
the silence filled with the knowledge of these two people,
with the friendship of these two people, with the dedication
you know, she needs him as much as he needs her.
(43:10):
And how are we going to portray that in the silence?
You know, I mean, the most that he says in
Bridgeton is yes, your majesty, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (43:21):
Yeah? But how would that face? Right?
Speaker 4 (43:24):
Yeah, yeah, exactly exactly, So how do you portray that?
You know? And then coming to Queen Charlotte and him
being able to speak for the first time, and the
scene where he tells me, you know, about my daughters
and them not getting married, and then I get upset
and tell him to go and stand over there and
(43:46):
look the other way.
Speaker 7 (43:48):
You are still his queen, forever, frozen, forever waiting. Your
daughters could not leave you here, trapped in time.
Speaker 4 (44:06):
Go and stand over there and stop talking.
Speaker 7 (44:11):
Look that way, not at me, of course, your majesty.
Speaker 4 (44:16):
Yes, it's a funny scene. We cried because that was
the first time that he had spoken more than yes,
your majesty, and it was so overwhelming for both of us.
You know, it was like we wanted this for so long.
(44:37):
You know, it kind of felt like the lid had
been lifted off this relationship, this emotion that was so
deep and so passionate for these two characters. And yeah,
we just started weeping and he was so beautiful and
he did it so amazingly. Well, it was just like, oh,
(45:00):
oh my god, you know when we held each other
and yeah, really really moving. I mean we we are
quite naughty as well. On set, we do. We laugh
a lot. Hugh is very good at making up sketch shows.
But yeah, he has a conchance for sketch shows. So
(45:24):
whenever we are waiting for action or you know, he
has me crying.
Speaker 5 (45:30):
Like a one man reacting.
Speaker 4 (45:33):
Yeah, yeah, he's like one man band man. He's one yeah, absolutely.
But also you know he's been there for me. You know,
it was you know in the tough times at the beginning,
when everything kind of blew up and we weren't able
to kind of reach out to people because we were,
you know, the pandemic and so on, and we were
doing lots of kind of zoom things, and it was
(45:54):
kind of the blow up of Bridgitton was kind of
happening outside, you know, so it was kind of it
was quite lonely, and he was out of our bubble
because he was on his own, so he joined our bubble.
So it was really nice to kind of have him
there and you know, for the two of us to
kind of go through it together and we would meet
in a park and kind of discuss it all. And
(46:17):
because he just he literally lives up the road for me.
Speaker 5 (46:19):
Oh yeah, So in.
Speaker 4 (46:21):
Those times, you know, it was really he was He
was such a good good friend and he continues to
be so. But yeah, he's I'm so pleased he's getting
his moment.
Speaker 3 (46:32):
You know.
Speaker 1 (46:34):
What I'm hearing you say is you know, you're able
to just be when you are around this person. Yeah,
And I feel like that is maybe what Queen Charlotte
is also able to do. She's able to just be
around Brimsley, maybe to a fault, because in that you
said it was funny, it was a little funny in
(46:56):
a funny in the same way Sorrow's prayer, Sorrow's like
Queen Charlotte, that's so mean. Yeah, yeah, exactly, but that
scene was I felt sad for Queen Charlotte in that moment.
If you could just take us back to that, just
describe why is the mirror important in that scene.
Speaker 4 (47:18):
That's a very interesting question. And I'm only coming at
it riffing on it now, but I think, but I
think what's interesting about the mirror is she goes off
about you know, they're not treating my fact, my children
aren't treating me good. They're not talking to me very nicely.
(47:38):
You know, I'm a good mother. And I think the
I think what the audience is meant to see or
meant to feel, is that reflection, you know, when people
reflect things back at you. I think it's a really
interesting way of her kind of not seeing herself the
(47:59):
truth of who she is, you know.
Speaker 5 (48:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (48:04):
And also I think it's really lovely that she she's
taking off jewelry, you know, and and that kind of
that kind of coming back to self, taking off the facade,
taking off the layers, right, and kind of coming back
to to self in that moment where your soul is
(48:28):
reflected at you, but you're not seeing it. You choose
not to see.
Speaker 1 (48:34):
It, And that is perfect from my mind, because I
feel like in that moment also, Queen Charlotte was choosing
not to see the obvious answer to the question she
asked Brimsley in that moment, like you never fell in love,
you never got married, Like duh, Queen Charlotte, what do
you think he's with you all the time? So that's
(48:56):
that makes.
Speaker 5 (48:57):
Sense to me.
Speaker 4 (48:59):
Yeah, I think there's something in that.
Speaker 1 (49:02):
Oh wow, Yeah, you also had really special moments with
the King George.
Speaker 5 (49:10):
Under the bed James.
Speaker 1 (49:12):
Yeah, you and India and Corey and James Fleet.
Speaker 5 (49:18):
Do you have any.
Speaker 1 (49:19):
Special thoughts or memories from that scene before?
Speaker 4 (49:22):
Oh my god, absolutely I have loads, loads and loads
and loads. But what I can tell you is, first
and foremost, that was a James and My scene with
kind of stage directions of flashing back. It was Tom
Vereker's vision to film it that way. The man is
(49:43):
a genius. It was his vision and only him, and
I remember him saying, you know, we're going to get
Corey and India to learn the lines and we're just
going to play I was like, yeah, man, I'm down.
Was brilliant, absolutely, yeah, no idea what you're going to do.
But yes, yes, yes, all of the yes is because
(50:03):
I trust him complicitly. So on the day it was
really beautiful. And James is one of these actors. I mean,
he's been around for many years. He's an absolute professional
and he can just lock in straight away. He knows
exactly what to do. So it's really nice to be
a because we don't see each other all that much,
you know. So you know when I come through the
(50:25):
door and I say George and I tell him and
he turns to me and I tell him about the kids.
Speaker 5 (50:33):
Yeah, ah, you're so excited too.
Speaker 4 (50:36):
Yeah, and I realize that he's not with me like James.
It was just just like so easy. It's lovely, it's great,
it's brilliant. You know, you can do your work when
the guy looks at you and is like so in
character but yet so joined with you as an actor.
(50:59):
It's brilliant, really good. And then you know, we get
under the bed and James is a very funny man.
He's also hilarious, so we'll be chat chat chat in
and we're under the bed and you know, how are you?
And he loves his motorbikes and stuff and oh yes,
I've rode my motorbike here today. And I'm like, oh great,
(51:19):
well the chat chat chat okay, and Action in it.
He's in it. Just George Farmer, George, come hide from
(51:40):
the heavens.
Speaker 8 (51:40):
With me, Charlotte, Why hello, hello George. It is quiet here, George.
Speaker 4 (52:00):
We have succeeded our son, Edward. He has married and
his wife is with child.
Speaker 3 (52:09):
Edward.
Speaker 8 (52:10):
You're going to be a father.
Speaker 4 (52:11):
Yes, your line will live on.
Speaker 8 (52:17):
Our line, our line.
Speaker 4 (52:30):
Thank you, thank you. And that's so thrilling.
Speaker 5 (52:40):
Is it freeing?
Speaker 4 (52:42):
It's so freeing because I trust that Action will give
me what I want, but also that what he does
and how he works inspires me to give him what
he wants.
Speaker 5 (52:59):
M mm hmmm.
Speaker 4 (53:01):
So yeah, that was It was so great. And then
you know, you get a Tom was in the other
room video village and you get okay, Golder, you come
out and let's get India in. So I shuffle out
of the bed underneath the bed.
Speaker 5 (53:17):
Is it a high bed? Like what how are you
doing this?
Speaker 4 (53:21):
No? I'm in full wig, full costume. It's it's hilarious.
I mean they should have videoed it actually kind of
behind the scenes, you know, and I kind of you shuffle,
you wiggle, and the guys helped me up because it's
hard to get up, you know, with the wigs and everything.
And then India gets in and they do the scene
(53:43):
and then you know, Tom's like, okay, James, you come out,
Corey you go in. And it was literally like that.
And I said to Tom, I said, I want to
be in the editing room, man, when you edit this scene,
because this is like what is going on? But it
was it was so beautiful and glorious to be in
(54:05):
an environment that is created by a director like Tom
that you can just play bingo.
Speaker 1 (54:13):
I thought it was a really interesting way to think
about love and loss because the loss there is, you know,
George is not fully himself so to say I'm saying
with quote marks, So there's like a sense of loss there.
(54:34):
I think of like people who have lost people to
dementia or Alzheimer's. It's like that similar kind of grief.
Someone is still with you, but you're still grieving them.
Speaker 4 (54:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (54:45):
I felt that was.
Speaker 1 (54:47):
A really special way to depict loss in Queen Charlotte
and you know, it's just not really seen often.
Speaker 4 (54:56):
Yeah, and I think there's a there's a really beautiful
scene that connects that, you know, which is the first
scene with India and Corey where Charlotte comes out into
the garden and she sees him mad for the first time,
but she decides she chooses to take him in her arms. Yes,
(55:19):
and cares for him. Yes, and cares for him right
up until the time I open that door and go
under the bed with him.
Speaker 5 (55:31):
Yes, that journey through my computer.
Speaker 4 (55:34):
Absolutely, that journey from that moment to the woman you
see in Bridgeton is all of the understanding of that woman,
do you know what I mean? The audience and the fans,
I hope make that connection and go, oh my god, wow.
From that moment that India embraces him and chooses to
(55:55):
become his care I never really understood in sickness and
in health till death has due part, never understood it
before until that moment. And then you join the dots
and the journey to the end scene.
Speaker 1 (56:13):
Yeah, did you and India have any heart to hearts
about Queen Charlotte Because it's in many, many depictions of
a queen and opulence and opportunity. It can get lost.
It certainly isn't lost this time.
Speaker 4 (56:31):
I don't own this role. I really don't. Yes, I'm
the OG, but I wanted to give her Charlotte and
for her to make Charlotte her own. You know, you
can't put anything on Charlotte, you know, you can't kind
(56:53):
of say, oh, you must do this, you must do that,
you must have this look, or you must have this
walk or whatever Charlotte does. She won't allow that. You
need to be you need to take her and make
her your own, you know, because she stands firm in
who you are. She stands firm in how unapologetic you are.
(57:15):
For me, it was all about supporting India in her
journey with this character. So in terms of that chat,
it didn't go that way. It didn't go that way.
Speaker 5 (57:30):
I'm here for it. Yes, Yeah, she.
Speaker 4 (57:34):
Made it her own, you know, And I think that's
it's it's beautiful and somehow in that and I think
that's why, you know, people are saying, oh my god,
it was such such a good fit. You guys, you know,
you look the same. Actually, all of that, I think
that's why she will you know, we allowed her to
(57:55):
take it and run with it and make it her
own and celebrate her as an artist within this character.
Speaker 1 (58:01):
Yes, she tapped in, she clocked in. Yeah she did
found her essence. Yeah, yeah, that's what people are reacting
to that.
Speaker 4 (58:10):
Yeah, she found her essence.
Speaker 5 (58:13):
I like that.
Speaker 4 (58:13):
I'm gonna steal that.
Speaker 1 (58:14):
Yeah. Well, Golda, Golda, Golda Rochevelle. I can't say enough
to thank you for your time today, for their performance
you just left for us on screen.
Speaker 5 (58:30):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (58:32):
You're most well, most welcome.
Speaker 1 (58:35):
And that concludes our episode with the incredible Golda and India,
the talented actresses behind the captivating Queen Charlotte. We are
very grateful for their presence and their artistry and for
charming us with their warmth and their grace. Queen Charlotte
absolutely resonates deeply with audiences worldwide, and it's no wonder
(58:57):
why after speaking with the two of them. They bring
an openness and a grace to the role that only
people of a special sort.
Speaker 5 (59:10):
Carrie.
Speaker 1 (59:10):
It's a light that they carry that comes through that
we're watching and we're witnessing that these are actresses that
have not only written their own narratives, but have also
enriched our lives through this narrative, Shonda Rhimes wrote, and
they delivered that to us. So we are forever grateful
for this moment in time where we can experience it.
(59:35):
I wonder what people are going to say in twenty
years about their depiction of Queen Charlotte. Anyway, again, a heartfelt,
heartfelt thanks for their time. On the next episode, Now.
Speaker 2 (59:48):
There's this amazing moment for me when she asks as
an older Queen Charlotte, she asks Brimsley, why did you
never marry?
Speaker 1 (59:59):
Yeah, yup, Shonda Rhymes, come on back.
Speaker 5 (01:00:04):
Queen Charlotte.
Speaker 1 (01:00:05):
The Official Podcast is executive produced by Sandy Bailey, Lauren Homan,
alex Alja Tyler Klang, and me Gabrielle Collins. Our producer
and editor is Tarry Harrison. Subscribe to the podcast anywhere
you get your favorite shows. Get the book I'm a
Crispy Turn the page, Smell the Binding kind of Queen.
(01:00:25):
But you can download it and you can find Queen
Charlotte a Bridgeton story on Netflix. We'll see you next week.
Queen Charlotte. The Official Podcast is a production of Shondaland
Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
(01:00:48):
favorite shows.
Queen Charlotte. The Official Podcast is a production of Shondaland
Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio, He Love and a Warm, Warm,
Warm Welcome to Queen Charlotte, a British Story the official Podcast.
(00:23):
I'm your host, Gabby Collins, and on this episode, I
am thrilled to share two conversations with you. I got
to spend some time with the two remarkable queens that
brought to life one of the most captivating and influential
characters of the Bridge Reverse Queen Charlotte. It is an
absolute pleasure to delve into the world of these talented
(00:46):
actresses who have masterfully embodied this enigmatic you know, leaving
audiences spelled bound with their performance over the topious Queen
Queen Charlotte. It's an honor to happen with us and
we can't wait to hear their insight, their experiences, and
(01:07):
the shimmering brilliance that they bring to screen. So let's
just get right on in. Welcome India. How are you
doing today.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
I'm doing very well. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
It's really good to have you. I just wanted to
start off by saying you absolutely exude a Swan like
essence of a young queen Charlotte.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Oh, thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Thank you, probably ingrained in me for like another ten
years or so, but yeah, yeah, I'll take that as
a compliment.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
You know, so you had to walk into a room
for how many days as like the centerpiece and holding
up so much of the story and the scenes. How
does that inform you of yourself? Did you surprise yourself
in any way? Are you more brazen than you thought
(02:04):
you ever were?
Speaker 3 (02:06):
I think she taught me a lot. She taught me
about just being okay with emotions and being okay with
not being okay, and actually normalizing the fact that not
everyone feels one hundred percent all the time. And you know,
(02:26):
in those moments when she is dancing and she's moving,
it's it's incredibly surreal for her, I think, and it's
it's it's probably all very too much, which ey as
India can get very overwhelmed by large crowds and large
groups of people, especially when there's attention only on you.
But you know the fact that she kind of defies
(02:47):
those those feelings and pushes against it and great outcomes
come from that kind of taught me that, Hey, Okay,
you may be feeling uncomfortable and said situation, but pushed
through And yeah, you know, only greatness can come from
working outside of your comfort zone, which I'm notorious for
(03:08):
staying in because she's nice and safe and comfortable and
I like her. But yeah, I don't feel like I've
made significant changes to my life and just me as
a person from stepping outside of my comfort zone.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
And this job was one of them.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
I think there aren't many jobs that are as scary
to take on as this in all the spectrums, you know,
the most amazing feeling to the most terrifying feeling of
like taking on this massive role. So yeah, it just
showed me that I should continue to push outside of
my little circle of safety.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yeah, you said something that's interesting. You said that emotions
are okay.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Yeah, do you mean by that?
Speaker 2 (03:51):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
I had a very weird feeling whenever I felt a
huge sense of any type of emotion, whether that's a
complete enjoyjoyment, you know, terror, horror, being nervous, being afraid,
being scared. I always kind of masked that, and I
didn't really realize that I did that, And I guess
that influenced my acting because it meant that I wasn't
(04:17):
able to open up. I wasn't able to explore these
emotions to create another person, let alone you know, reflect
on my own experiences feeling certain feelings. But with Charlotte
and with this job I was with her for six months,
I was creating a whole person. I had to know
exactly how she felt in all situations, what nerves felt
like to her, and how she displayed that, what elation
(04:38):
felt like to her, and how she displayed that. So
for me, I had to feel that as India and
go through that and really kind of recount on my
life in those moments where I've maybe masked how I
was feeling just because I don't know. I thought it
was a bit cringe to be vulnerable or to show
my emotions completely, because it does put you in a
(04:59):
scary position of you know, people judging.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
You or being able to use something against you.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
But she made me a lot more empathic, and she
made me discover that actually I am quite an emotional person.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I never thought I was.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I thought I was quite straight laced, and you know,
I'll just get on with things and quite britt you know,
have that very British mentality of you know, just just
go and do your job or just you just keep
pushing through things. But actually I'm highly sensitive and I
think it's actually been beautiful. It's opened my eyes to
(05:33):
the world. I've traveled more than I have, and I've
got to meet people and really understand people and really
getting to know what humans are like through through getting
to know her and getting to know emotions. So I
feel a lot of pride and a lot of gratitude
when I think about her and Chonda's writing and her work,
(05:54):
because it's, yeah, it's not only helped me as an actor,
but as a human, which again is you know, going
to only help me in my job be a better
and more honest and open person.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
There were scenes with you and Corey you in Arsama
where I felt like I wasn't supposed to be in
the room, which is I mean, what the mark of
a really good moment, right, mm hmm. Tell me about
that and working with Corey working with Arsama, the moments
for you that felt the most freeing or light or
(06:28):
were you grey able to just get lost in that moment.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
You sit with a character for six months and I think.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
You do you do lose yourself in the best way
and sometimes in bad ways because you leave a job
when you go what is my existence as India? But
I felt, you know, especially towards the end of filming,
so easy to access her and just to you know,
completely delve into this world. A lot of the scenes
that I felt I was completely kind of engross and
(06:59):
Shonda writes in a way that is almost incredibly theatrical.
She makes you know, ten minute scenes, six minute scenes,
which are so detailed, so intricate, and you get them
and you see them on a page and you're like, right,
I know this is an important scene because of this
bus and this We've spoken about this, we've tackled this,
we need to get from here to here, and then
(07:19):
by the end of the scene were completely different places.
And it's about working together as a team, and especially
with Corey. Actually, we really really worked hard in the
evenings after filming.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
You know, we'd sit for a couple hours.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
And just delve into the scenes that are coming up,
and we'd make sure we were prepped and knew why
we were doing the scenes and making sure we hit
every important beat and kind of quizzing each other on
why the scenes.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Are what they are.
Speaker 5 (07:44):
Oh I live for that.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Yeah, yeah, that's what a lot of I mean, that's
how we were trained. Corey was trained theatrically. I was
trained theatrically. And that's how you break down the script.
You you know, you annotate it, you give it a purpose,
you put it into perspective of both characters, and you
workshop around it and you find out ways and you
come up with ideas of how you could do it
on the day. But then also you know, leave it
(08:06):
to the director's interpretation and also the energy that both
of you bring on the day.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
But a lot of work goes into it.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
A lot a lot of work goes into it, and
it has to because a lot of it isn't spoken.
I think that's what's great about Schaumba's writing. A lot
of it is in the gestures, the eye contact, the
the no speaking, the silences, the pauses, and those are
the bits that can often be missed but are incredibly
important and you know, tell a lot more about about
(08:34):
how someone's feeling in that situation then words can.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
And I think that's the beauty of it.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
And I think that's why this show just you know,
satisfies those Taste Buds because it says what we're all thinking,
and sometimes we're too afraid to say out loud.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
One of the things I'm not sure how to explain
out loud is the moment between you as Queen Charlotte
and Arsama as Young Agatha, young Lady Agatha Denver at
this point, and she comes up to you and she's
basically making a case. She's basically making a case to
(09:08):
have the ball be thrown the first ball, and it's
a moment where she's teaching young Charlotte about her privilege
and what responsibility she has to act with it. What
was the conversation the two of you had to really
dig into that scene, because it speaks volumes today.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
I don't think we actually did, you know. I know
we ran lines again, delved into its importance. But there's
something about the black woman's experience in every culture you know,
in Britain and America, that one doesn't even really need to.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Say anything.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
It's just an understanding, an immediate sense of I understand
what this person's going through. And for some of the scenes,
especially like that, for me, I didn't work a lot
on them because I wanted that natural reaction to someone
actually saying it out loud.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Sometimes that really works.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
There are a couple of scenes where I'm like, I'm
going to I'm going to just you know, power my line,
so I'm not thinking about the lines, and most of
the time, I'm just letting the other actor affect my choices.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
And that was one of the.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Scenes I knew, you know what I was saying. My
objective was with George and what on earth he was doing,
and I was going to you know, the turn. The
head turn was when she starts talking to me about
the actual pressing topics. So you know, I used that.
I use that sense of like I don't actually know
what she's going to say. I'm not going to look
at what us M is saying that day. I'm going
(10:48):
to let her words inform my reaction. And it was
completely natural. You know, I am Charlotte, but I'm also
taking in what she's saying for the first time. There's
a lot of scenes like that where I'd read it
and I was like, I don't want to read the
other person's like, I don't want to do that. I
just I just want to I just want to be
I want to go through that that ride in that
journey and find where Charlotte sits in there.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Oh, that's really interesting. I'm wondering if one of those
scenes is in episode six, young Charlotte's pregnant, she you know,
goes to young George and she's basically asking him, you know,
what is wrong with you? And it ends in a
you know, beautiful emotional moment, but he's hurling, he's hurling
(11:32):
at you.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
Is that one of those scenes that you yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
M hm, yeah, yeah, And you can tell I do
not want you.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
I want never to see you leave, get out. I
order you.
Speaker 6 (11:50):
No, George, Charlotte, you cannot force me away.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
I will not go.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
I commanded girl.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
I will stay. I command it.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
There's a way of, you know, the first time you
hear something being said out lies, you really are in
intent and you're you're really kind of interested in focus
on what they're saying.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
It's another one I.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Think people people will will see now maybe if they
go and rewatch it, which hopefully they do. The scenes
that you can just really tell that both people are
in the room, they're present, and they're thinking. They're not
thinking what's my next line. It's like, no, my intention
is to you, and you only, and that is perfect example.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
So let's talk about working with Tanji Tunji. Cassim yay,
your brother, young Charlotte's brother, Adolphus. I absolutely love the
Chrriacter scene. With the two of you.
Speaker 7 (12:42):
You give the appearance of a statue.
Speaker 6 (12:44):
Statues are workspart art is beautiful.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Art can be beautiful to gaze upon. You are ridiculous
to the eye.
Speaker 6 (12:52):
Is there a point you.
Speaker 7 (12:54):
Have not moved an inch in six hours?
Speaker 6 (12:56):
I'm wearing leonae silk encrusted with Indian sapphi is working
with overlay of two hundred year old lace. Apparently too
much movement can cause the sapphires to shred the lace.
If that were not enough, the gown sits atop of
bespoke underpinning made of whalebone. Whal yes, whalebone, brother, the
bones of whales. Whales died so I could look like this.
(13:20):
All the finest corsets are whalebone. You would know that
if you knew anything.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
You are dancing with the with the script. Actually you're
more like a kitten with a fall of yarn with
the script. In that scene, it's someone used the words
you are still but just still really just effervescent with
(13:45):
with your delivery, and I am curious about the back
and forth between you and and Cassime in preparation for
that scene, and and if we could also talk about
how you stand up for that character in episode six
when you confront our summer as young.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Yeah, I mean, Tunji is one of the best people
I ever worked with. He is so experienced, so level headed,
you know, so ingrained in the.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Work, but also up for just having a laugh.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
And he's incredibly intelligent and it was an absolute joy
to spend time with him.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
And I feel like I.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Don't get to speak to him enough and speak about
him enough, actually, but he was vital, vital in making
that scene as impactful as it is.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
But we tried.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
We did that scene all day. I think I had
a very short scene in the morning with Corey and
then yeah, we had a whole day dedicated to that
scene again because it's so important, and it's almost as
important as the meet you. You know, you're discovering Charlotte
for the first time and who she is and her
relationship and you know the world that we're about to
(15:01):
start building again. It was another scene that we just
hammered the lines like we knew them back to front.
They were my audition scenes, so I'd known them for
you know, months and months and months, and it was
ingrained in my soul by then, So the lines weren't
a problem. It was more bringing something new and fresh
to each take, because you know, sometimes when you're saying
(15:22):
the same thing, you can get into a bit of
a rut and you have the same cadence of how
you're saying anything. And it was just about breaking that
mold and changing that. But that was you know, only
through Tunji's excellence and Tom's direction and everyone around us
kind of each take wanting a new, fresh, you know,
idea and spark, and we did so many different takes,
(15:43):
Tunji just going completely ham basically, and he's just like,
let's completely loose, and his anger and his frustration and
everything comes on to her and then she's left kind
of quite meekly in the corner, going sorry like we
And then we did ones where he kept very level
headed and she was you know, up here and she
held the upper hand and very very interesting to go
(16:05):
through the day and go through different types of you know,
power and differences between the pair, and then I think,
you know, she realizes again a bit like with Agatha,
like there's only a certain amount of people in society
that will relate to her and her experiences, and one
of her one of those people is her brother.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
And I think she really takes it to heart that, you.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Know, the whole thing with Lady Danbury doesn't work out
between him and her. But I think it's also a
moment where she uses her power and she realizes her
power in that instant.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Lady Danbury has been telling her you you know, you're
the first of your kind.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
You're this, you're that, and this is the first time
she's she's kind of openly expressing it to this person
who's asked her to step up to the plane. She's like, listen,
you wanted me to be this way. You you were
the person who wanted me to take the stance and
to be strong and to lead my people. This is
me leading my people and you're one of them. Don't
forget that. So I think it was just, you know,
(17:02):
a vessel almost in order for her to push that.
And she does love her brother, and I think she
is probably quite grateful by the end.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
That everything kind of worked out.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
She is with the love of her life and it's
not the ending and it's not the life that she
maybe would wish for. However, she now is either figurehead
in society and she's part of all this change and she's.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
New and yeah, I think there's a lot for her
to be grateful to him for.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
We'll be right back with Marchia chat with India and
Martifia after this short break listening to Queen Charlotte Bridgeston
(18:01):
Story the official podcast. Before we get back into our
conversation with India, m R Tifo, let's just take a
quick moment to hear this note from the casting director
Kelly Valentine Hendry.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
When India's tape landed. There was one of I'll never
forget that. I mean, she is young Queen Charlotte, she
is young Goulder.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Since you love character deep dives, if we had to
choose a moment when young Charlotte comes into her own
in these six episodes, which I think we know like
she's going to grow more over the next few decades,
right for me, it would be the moment she finds
young George in the garden and she just kind of
(18:44):
looks down and makes a choice right there. That's she's
choosing to stick with him and care for him. What
was that moment for.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
You two, That one for sure, because that is her
in that split second deciding, Okay, I'm I'm all in
now I'm not if I wasn't before, I'm all in.
I care too much about this person to let this
affect my image of them, to let me not see
(19:13):
past someone that is in need of help and that
I want to be that person for them. But also
the moment she she locks eyes with him at the
end of the altar, and she she's only you know,
I think she's almost expecting someone at the that's someone
to be I don't know, intimidated, taken aback, you know,
(19:35):
not up for it anymore. But all she sees is
just adoring eyes and someone someone completely accepting her and
accepting her in the way that she wants to be presented,
in the way that she wants to be presented. And
you know, for him to to be so open and
to be so yeah, inviting of someone who is bearing
(19:57):
all I think for her, she's like, this is someone
that I can trust, This is someone that can see
me for me finally, and it will accept me for me,
and that I am enough as I am. Even if
she is more, then she's a lot more than I
think anyone was expecting. Well we know, especially her mother
in law. But yeah, those two moments I think just
(20:18):
helped solidify their union.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Yeah, you completely took my breath away in that moment.
I was just like, oh, Wow, this young person who's
supposed to be seventeen is just so completely aware of
marriage in being in a committed relationship. That was really amazing.
(20:44):
It was a really amazing moment.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Yeah, it was amazing to film as well.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Yeah, was that outside or were you guys inside and
all it for that?
Speaker 2 (20:53):
We were inside and all it baby? Really Yeah? Yeah,
it was in.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Oxford on dinner in a real church. It was absolutely sunning.
And yeah, the lighting and the cinematography just really came together. Wow,
it was a very magical moment. We have a load
of essays as well that day. It was like the
most essays we've ever had.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
WHOA, Is there anything about the last episode, episode six.
Speaker 5 (21:20):
That for you.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Is like a full circle moment for you as a
performer as a storyteller? Does is there anything that you
take away from the final episode of the show.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
The last scene right the last scene under the bed,
I think as an actor, as an audience member, as
Charlotte looking at George, there's just for me, it was
completely you know, full circle. I was like, Okay, this
is this is why we've done the job, this is
this is this is very very special. Yeah, I think
(21:58):
it just showed it's incredibly bittersweet and like such an understatement,
but you know, you've just seen, you know, more than
seven hours worth of content showing that these two people
are destined to be together, yet they are in such
different journeys, such different headspaces, such different paths, such different
(22:20):
places that it's it's it's heartbreaking because you know they
desperately want to be together, but there's something in the way.
And I feel like when there's that object in the way,
there's always it always makes things more exciting because you're
always wanting to know how to get there. And you know,
we start knowing that they have a love a beautiful
love story, and that he's you know, incredibly challenged, but
(22:42):
we don't get the backstory, and then we see it
in Queen Charlotte, and then you know, it brings it
full circle.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
So I think in that sense, it gives.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
It gives purpose and it shows, Yeah, it gives the
whole series purpose. It shows that this love is one
for the history books and is meant to last. But also,
you know, for me playing a younger character, it's it's
very it's not common to see you're an older counterpart
and then to see them portray the same same scene.
(23:15):
It felt like I was seeing her future seeing my future,
which was very very bizarre and amazing as well, to
show that, you know, their love still does stand the
test of time, and although he continues to descend, she
can still have those glimmers, she still can have those
(23:36):
memories in those moments with him, and I think that's
what she does it for. It's those little you know,
those flickers of his presence still being there, very very important.
Apart from it being incredibly sad and making everyone bloody, including.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Me, Yeah, it was. It was.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
It was great, It was amazing, and I got to
see it all happen as well, so it was it
was very special.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Yeah, definitely a lesson in life.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
I really did.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
I took away the same thing that you hold onto
those glimmers, but that choice, that choice to love and
that choice to stay and not go over the wall
is my biggest takeaway from this series. I think you
can apply that to so many different scenarios and work
in life.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Is there a wall that you did go over in
life in your short life, any walls that you said,
you know what, let me get over this way, let me.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Just I don't think. I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
I think I am quite meticulous. I'm a quite a
meticulous planner, and I don't usually do things I don't
want to do. That is one thing my mother gave me.
She didn't give me the looks. She gave me her subness.
I can be quite set in my ways. I don't
think so climbing over the walls.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
No, No, I try.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
I just try and tackle things. Problems come, I try,
and I try and figure out a way to work
with them rather than work against them.
Speaker 5 (25:10):
A true rare jewel.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Thank you very much. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
I keep forgetting about that really really important scene until
the end, which is just so powerful.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
So is there any favorite off set rendezvous or fun
that you've had with your castmates. I had a fun
talk with Sam Clement and Freddie Dennis. They told me
this wild story about cows.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Oh god, what.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
I missed a big chunk of it. But it was
so funny, just because they were laughing so hard.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Okay, I'm glad, I'm glad they found it funny.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
They decided.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
So we hired an airbnb it's like a verbo in
a vr bo for our last two weeks for filming,
and I decided it was a great idea to live
with the boys. And I what a decision I made.
That was Maybe that was maybe where I should have
run over the wall.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
It was. It was great.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
I think there was one evening we got back really
late and we were all cooking our separate dinners. Corey
had made an abomination, that is what it was.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
It was rice.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Corn like you know, like vegetarian meat with veg in
tomato sauce. And then he got Brand flakes, crushed up
Brand flakes, sprinkled them on top and put it in
the microwave.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
So that was his dinner.
Speaker 4 (26:49):
My dinner was.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
My dinner was a potato salad.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
Sam had cooked a beautiful like salmon, rice and vege
and everything, and then.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
He wasn't eating and I said, where is your dinner?
Speaker 3 (27:02):
And he said, oh, I I left it in the
kitchen so I'd finished my dinner and I took my
plate to the kitchen and I was trying to look
for his dinner and I could smell past it, but
I couldn't see it. And I went to go and
wash my hands in the sink and I looked at
the sink and he had just poured his pasta into
the sink and left it just cooked pasta in the sink.
(27:24):
And I think he was going back to eat it,
but it was just left, not in a bowl, just
like you know, in the plug hole with all the soap.
And I took a picture and it was fantastic. But
that was That was an interesting evening. I think we
were delirious. We've been filming night shoots. So I'll give him,
I'll give him a I'll give him a brief, you know,
I'll let him.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I'll let him rest. But that was crazy. I do
have to admit it was.
Speaker 5 (27:48):
That was nuts.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
It's really nice that you all had time to just
connect away from from it all for a little bit.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
Yeah, for sure, for sure, to build a rapport.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
And yah h, I think that the number one thing
over the last few years in hearing about life on
set with Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte. Is that it's always
centered around food, like where are we going to get
some food? And the good times around a good meal.
Did you have any kinds of conversations that were very
(28:21):
eye opening that you were able to take back with
you that have really just stuck with you away from
working on the show during the show, Just to.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
Enjoy it, enjoy the right, Yeah, which is you know,
a lot easier said than done when you've got traveling,
you've got to make certain deadlines, and you've got this
and that, and you're meeting people. But actually just to
take a breather and sit back and take it all
in and just go, wow, Okay, we really did something
really cool here, and yeah, to enjoy all the all
(28:52):
the pros that come that come with it, And yeah,
I need to remember to do that more often.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Do you have any last thoughts about working on the show,
working with your castmates?
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Really just that I I've had a really amazing time,
and I hope people will continue to watch the show
and to love it as much as we did making it.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
We're all going to go binge it again. Yeah, Thank you, India.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Thank you so so much.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
I'm going to refresh my tea.
Speaker 5 (29:27):
You should do the same.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
We're going to speak with Golda Rochevel, So come right
back after this break. We're back with Queen Charlotte A
Bridgeton Story, the official podcast, and we're talking to Golder Rochevel,
who's here today to talk about reprising her role in
(29:49):
Queen Charlotte A Bridgeton Story.
Speaker 5 (29:52):
Hi girl, Hi, Hi, Hey, how are you.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
I'm good bybe very very good. Good to talk, good to.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
It's so good, it's so good to talk with you.
I still revisit our last conversation for sustenance.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
Yeah yeah, yeah, oh yeah, and that one with addu
that was that was the last one was with Addie,
wasn't it. Yeah? Coolah a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Now it was a whole lot of life and work
has happened since then.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
That's true, true, true talk true to Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Back then, I don't know if you knew that there
were big plans for your character.
Speaker 5 (30:38):
Did you know?
Speaker 4 (30:39):
Did you have any I had no idea. I had
no idea. You know, I don't know, you just kind
of I don't know. My life has just been, you know,
chugging along doing the work. And being really happy with that.
You know, I love to work, like you know, my profession.
(31:01):
I adore it. I adore the you know, the kind
of investigation of characters and humanity and how we are.
And I think, you know, maybe I've said this to
you before, but I've definitely said this in interviews before,
is that I really truly believe that an actor's superpower
is empathy. You know, so I really I love to
(31:24):
find that within my characters. So the work becomes really
something that I'm really passionate about and that I really
advocate for these characters. So Charlotte was no different for me.
You know, I worked on her, I developed her. I
really cherished our journey together in creation, in bringing her
(31:48):
to life, in bringing you know, Shonda Rhime's Chris van Dusen,
you know, if we're talking about right at the beginning,
you know, their vision and even like Julia Quinn and
her world and bringing that to life within this character
that had been placed into her world.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
You know.
Speaker 4 (32:06):
So cut to Shonda Rhimes going, yeah, we'd like to
do a spin off of your character. I mean that's
like when you put that amount of working and you
really care about what you do and how you want
to do it. It's it's a real dream come true,
(32:28):
you know, and a real kind of validation of me
as an artist, you know, and what I dedicate to
do every single day. I walk hand in hand with
these characters. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Yeah, when you when you say validation, I don't think
of like, oh, she's finally getting like her flowers, because
if you know, you know, if you know Golder, you
know Golder, like.
Speaker 4 (32:59):
You think, there's always you know, ask any actor, there's
always wobbles and imposter syndrome, and you know, am I
am I worthy of this? Is it? Right? That's that's
it's part of being an actor that insecurity, you know.
So there's always that of going am I doing it?
Speaker 5 (33:23):
Justice?
Speaker 4 (33:24):
Am I doing the writing?
Speaker 5 (33:27):
Justice?
Speaker 4 (33:27):
Am I doing the character? Justice? You know? Right? So
that's what I mean in terms of validation. It's like, yeah, Okay,
I've done I've done an okay job. I think, Yeah,
that's that. This seems really this seems as though it's
going really well.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
I was wondering if you found yourself exploring Charlotte any differently,
or if you thought of her any differently with this,
like you said, cut to you or doing a whole
deep dive. Did you have to reshuffle some thoughts you
had originally?
Speaker 4 (33:58):
No, I didn't if any thing. It was the other
way around. It was really kind of collecting the information
that was then given to me, you know, because when
you work on a character and you don't have the
physical representations of that backstory, it's always there you work
on it. So, you know, for Charlotte, she had in
(34:21):
my mind, she had her family, she had her children,
There was a life. There was stuff going on behind
the scenes of Bridgeton, of all the balls and the
presentations and the tea parties. There was stuff there. But
I kind of describe it as it's kind of in
the darkness, you know, and Shonda Rhymes brought it all
(34:43):
into the light. Yeah, you know, but it's always been there,
but now it's physicalized. The imagination has been physicalized through
Shonda's writing.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
It does feel like her writing sometimes and your performance
are just I mean, this sounds so like obvious, right,
but it's just like hand in. But I wonder sometimes
if something that she kind of built into Charlotte was
inspired by maybe a way you twisted your mouth in
(35:18):
season two or something like that, you know, like that
made her think, oh, she's you know, she doesn't like
strawberries because George.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I'm sure there's an element of that
within a writer, you know, because the originator is still
there and still living and breathing the character. Schonder is
so good, as you say, joining me and the character
together and allowing us, through her writing, to be able
(35:48):
to walk hand in hand. You know, Charlotte's now become
an entity of on her own for really, you know,
she really is, has is established and in some ways
leads me the actress, you know, as well as I
lead her that I very much kind of wanted to
(36:11):
create that openness for her to do that, to be
able to stand and I think because of her character
as well, you know, and that's in the writing as
well as me playing that. She is a stand alone,
you know, woman who knows exactly what she wants. She's unapologetic,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
You know, you seem to always just show up in
such a very like, completely all their kind of way,
even if you know it can't touch you through the screen.
I was wondering if you had any if similarly you
worked with the costume.
Speaker 4 (36:47):
You know, in Bridgeton, I have a lot of collaboration
because we have time to work on the wigs and stuff,
and we have lots and lots of fittings. We had
that on Charlotte as well, and I'm very much involved
in in that kind of stuff and how how things
(37:07):
are put on my head and the weight of things
and or you know all of that. So, yes, there
is a collaboration. Charlotte needs to be able to walk,
do you know what I mean? She has a certain
way of like, yeah, she's like going, so that you
need to be taken into consideration. Shoes are a big
thing to me. I like my shoes to be on
(37:29):
my feet. I don't like any kind of slippage or
anything like that if I feel like I'm unbalanced. I'm
unbalanced already with the wigs and you know the size
of the costume, so my feet need to be in
those shoes like they need to be part of me.
So those are the only kind of things that I
collaborate on for the costume. But yeah, mainly the wigs
(37:51):
stuff is I find that really interesting, especially using like
dreadlocks and textured hair and plaits and all of that
trying to get all of that stuff in is really
really important.
Speaker 1 (38:03):
You are a lot more black this time too.
Speaker 4 (38:06):
Yeah, which I think is really interesting because Charlotte is
very much It's very personal, isn't it. The show It's
very intimate, and I think with that intimacy, the color
palette had to change, you know. Oh yes, yeah, we
drew the curtain over the windows a little bit to
(38:26):
kind of create that personal that private in she's grieving
the death of her granddaughter. But there was a conscious
decision to change that palette. So it wasn't as vibrant
as Bridgeton. You know, we were seeing her as a woman,
as a mother, you know, we were seeing her private life.
(38:51):
So those curtains had to be drawn a little bit
just to take out that light.
Speaker 7 (38:56):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
Yeah, yeah, I found that really interesting. But yeah, it
was still beautiful. It was still lush, and you know,
really it's still vibrant there, it's you know, but yet
the personal is it just tinged a little darker.
Speaker 5 (39:12):
It definitely did.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
And I was amazed at how in your funeral gown
it was. I was still able to see so much detail,
all the beating and the shimmery and it was it
was black, but there was.
Speaker 5 (39:27):
Nothing that I couldn't see.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
It was amazing, beautiful, beautiful. Yeah, I'm very honored to
wear those.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
Wow, you know, it's so funny you brought up shoes.
Lynn Pawla was talking about how she absolutely loved working
on the shoes for this show, and it's it's too
bad we didn't.
Speaker 5 (39:45):
Get to see more.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
Yeah, did you have any favorite pieces or.
Speaker 4 (39:52):
My favorite pieces are my ug boots when I'm sitting down.
Con fact, whenever the Queen is sitting down using ug boots.
Let me reveal that right now, any form of comfort
Golden Roschavel can get while playing this part, I will
go there, so know this world ug boots.
Speaker 5 (40:15):
That is sweet.
Speaker 4 (40:23):
Yeah, true, it's true.
Speaker 1 (40:27):
Now I'm wondering if they're so okay. I'm trying to
think of, Oh so that that scene where you are
having tea with Lady Danbury playing.
Speaker 4 (40:38):
Ug boots. I'm always like, when I'm sitting down, I'm
always like, can you see my feet? Can you see
my feet? Are you going down there? Where's the camera?
Speaker 5 (40:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (40:49):
Maybe you got to you gotta get it where you
can get it.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
I'm telling you, I will now look at the tea
scene in the greenhouse completely differently.
Speaker 4 (40:59):
Yeah, and so one where my kids are telling me
off downs, Oh.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
That reminds me Golda a little Birdie told me that
you and Hugh Sax have a very special relationship on
and offset And I've got to tell you, the two
of you on screen just.
Speaker 5 (41:22):
Mind blowing magical. Oh my god, you two he.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
Is and and the and the both of you together.
There are there are a few scenes where Mayan it
really stops everyone in their tracks. And so I'm really
curious about your perspective on some of these scenes and
what was going through the Queen's mind, and also what
(41:50):
you and Hugh, how you and Hugh work together. I
think listeners would love to hear how the sauce is made,
because you're what, you are, so thoughtful.
Speaker 4 (42:00):
Yeah, so h and I you rightly say we are
best best mates on and off the screen. Like when
we we I knew him, we kind of knew of
each other so at like you know, events or theater
events or whatever. If I saw him it would be like,
(42:21):
you know, a nice kind of polite nod and how
are you kind of thing. But then getting to work
with him was something really really special. He is just phenomenal,
and you know in Bridgeton, like he's one of our
biggest actors over here. But yet you know, he took
this part that had no words, no lines. But yet
(42:47):
you know, in Bridgeton we worked so hard on that relationship.
You know, what is the silence between them? How is
the silence filled with the knowledge of these two people,
with the friendship of these two people, with the dedication
you know, she needs him as much as he needs her.
(43:10):
And how are we going to portray that in the silence?
You know, I mean, the most that he says in
Bridgeton is yes, your majesty, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (43:21):
Yeah? But how would that face? Right?
Speaker 4 (43:24):
Yeah, yeah, exactly exactly, So how do you portray that?
You know? And then coming to Queen Charlotte and him
being able to speak for the first time, and the
scene where he tells me, you know, about my daughters
and them not getting married, and then I get upset
and tell him to go and stand over there and
(43:46):
look the other way.
Speaker 7 (43:48):
You are still his queen, forever, frozen, forever waiting. Your
daughters could not leave you here, trapped in time.
Speaker 4 (44:06):
Go and stand over there and stop talking.
Speaker 7 (44:11):
Look that way, not at me, of course, your majesty.
Speaker 4 (44:16):
Yes, it's a funny scene. We cried because that was
the first time that he had spoken more than yes,
your majesty, and it was so overwhelming for both of us.
You know, it was like we wanted this for so long.
(44:37):
You know, it kind of felt like the lid had
been lifted off this relationship, this emotion that was so
deep and so passionate for these two characters. And yeah,
we just started weeping and he was so beautiful and
he did it so amazingly. Well, it was just like, oh,
(45:00):
oh my god, you know when we held each other
and yeah, really really moving. I mean we we are
quite naughty as well. On set, we do. We laugh
a lot. Hugh is very good at making up sketch shows.
But yeah, he has a conchance for sketch shows. So
(45:24):
whenever we are waiting for action or you know, he
has me crying.
Speaker 5 (45:30):
Like a one man reacting.
Speaker 4 (45:33):
Yeah, yeah, he's like one man band man. He's one yeah, absolutely.
But also you know he's been there for me. You know,
it was you know in the tough times at the beginning,
when everything kind of blew up and we weren't able
to kind of reach out to people because we were,
you know, the pandemic and so on, and we were
doing lots of kind of zoom things, and it was
(45:54):
kind of the blow up of Bridgitton was kind of
happening outside, you know, so it was kind of it
was quite lonely, and he was out of our bubble
because he was on his own, so he joined our bubble.
So it was really nice to kind of have him
there and you know, for the two of us to
kind of go through it together and we would meet
in a park and kind of discuss it all. And
(46:17):
because he just he literally lives up the road for me.
Speaker 5 (46:19):
Oh yeah, So in.
Speaker 4 (46:21):
Those times, you know, it was really he was He
was such a good good friend and he continues to
be so. But yeah, he's I'm so pleased he's getting
his moment.
Speaker 3 (46:32):
You know.
Speaker 1 (46:34):
What I'm hearing you say is you know, you're able
to just be when you are around this person. Yeah,
And I feel like that is maybe what Queen Charlotte
is also able to do. She's able to just be
around Brimsley, maybe to a fault, because in that you
said it was funny, it was a little funny in
(46:56):
a funny in the same way Sorrow's prayer, Sorrow's like
Queen Charlotte, that's so mean. Yeah, yeah, exactly, but that
scene was I felt sad for Queen Charlotte in that moment.
If you could just take us back to that, just
describe why is the mirror important in that scene.
Speaker 4 (47:18):
That's a very interesting question. And I'm only coming at
it riffing on it now, but I think, but I
think what's interesting about the mirror is she goes off
about you know, they're not treating my fact, my children
aren't treating me good. They're not talking to me very nicely.
(47:38):
You know, I'm a good mother. And I think the
I think what the audience is meant to see or
meant to feel, is that reflection, you know, when people
reflect things back at you. I think it's a really
interesting way of her kind of not seeing herself the
(47:59):
truth of who she is, you know.
Speaker 5 (48:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (48:04):
And also I think it's really lovely that she she's
taking off jewelry, you know, and and that kind of
that kind of coming back to self, taking off the facade,
taking off the layers, right, and kind of coming back
to to self in that moment where your soul is
(48:28):
reflected at you, but you're not seeing it. You choose
not to see.
Speaker 1 (48:34):
It, And that is perfect from my mind, because I
feel like in that moment also, Queen Charlotte was choosing
not to see the obvious answer to the question she
asked Brimsley in that moment, like you never fell in love,
you never got married, Like duh, Queen Charlotte, what do
you think he's with you all the time? So that's
(48:56):
that makes.
Speaker 5 (48:57):
Sense to me.
Speaker 4 (48:59):
Yeah, I think there's something in that.
Speaker 1 (49:02):
Oh wow, Yeah, you also had really special moments with
the King George.
Speaker 5 (49:10):
Under the bed James.
Speaker 1 (49:12):
Yeah, you and India and Corey and James Fleet.
Speaker 5 (49:18):
Do you have any.
Speaker 1 (49:19):
Special thoughts or memories from that scene before?
Speaker 4 (49:22):
Oh my god, absolutely I have loads, loads and loads
and loads. But what I can tell you is, first
and foremost, that was a James and My scene with
kind of stage directions of flashing back. It was Tom
Vereker's vision to film it that way. The man is
(49:43):
a genius. It was his vision and only him, and
I remember him saying, you know, we're going to get
Corey and India to learn the lines and we're just
going to play I was like, yeah, man, I'm down.
Was brilliant, absolutely, yeah, no idea what you're going to do.
But yes, yes, yes, all of the yes is because
(50:03):
I trust him complicitly. So on the day it was
really beautiful. And James is one of these actors. I mean,
he's been around for many years. He's an absolute professional
and he can just lock in straight away. He knows
exactly what to do. So it's really nice to be
a because we don't see each other all that much,
you know. So you know when I come through the
(50:25):
door and I say George and I tell him and
he turns to me and I tell him about the kids.
Speaker 5 (50:33):
Yeah, ah, you're so excited too.
Speaker 4 (50:36):
Yeah, and I realize that he's not with me like James.
It was just just like so easy. It's lovely, it's great,
it's brilliant. You know, you can do your work when
the guy looks at you and is like so in
character but yet so joined with you as an actor.
(50:59):
It's brilliant, really good. And then you know, we get
under the bed and James is a very funny man.
He's also hilarious, so we'll be chat chat chat in
and we're under the bed and you know, how are you?
And he loves his motorbikes and stuff and oh yes,
I've rode my motorbike here today. And I'm like, oh great,
(51:19):
well the chat chat chat okay, and Action in it.
He's in it. Just George Farmer, George, come hide from
(51:40):
the heavens.
Speaker 8 (51:40):
With me, Charlotte, Why hello, hello George. It is quiet here, George.
Speaker 4 (52:00):
We have succeeded our son, Edward. He has married and
his wife is with child.
Speaker 3 (52:09):
Edward.
Speaker 8 (52:10):
You're going to be a father.
Speaker 4 (52:11):
Yes, your line will live on.
Speaker 8 (52:17):
Our line, our line.
Speaker 4 (52:30):
Thank you, thank you. And that's so thrilling.
Speaker 5 (52:40):
Is it freeing?
Speaker 4 (52:42):
It's so freeing because I trust that Action will give
me what I want, but also that what he does
and how he works inspires me to give him what
he wants.
Speaker 5 (52:59):
M mm hmmm.
Speaker 4 (53:01):
So yeah, that was It was so great. And then
you know, you get a Tom was in the other
room video village and you get okay, Golder, you come
out and let's get India in. So I shuffle out
of the bed underneath the bed.
Speaker 5 (53:17):
Is it a high bed? Like what how are you
doing this?
Speaker 4 (53:21):
No? I'm in full wig, full costume. It's it's hilarious.
I mean they should have videoed it actually kind of
behind the scenes, you know, and I kind of you shuffle,
you wiggle, and the guys helped me up because it's
hard to get up, you know, with the wigs and everything.
And then India gets in and they do the scene
(53:43):
and then you know, Tom's like, okay, James, you come out,
Corey you go in. And it was literally like that.
And I said to Tom, I said, I want to
be in the editing room, man, when you edit this scene,
because this is like what is going on? But it
was it was so beautiful and glorious to be in
(54:05):
an environment that is created by a director like Tom
that you can just play bingo.
Speaker 1 (54:13):
I thought it was a really interesting way to think
about love and loss because the loss there is, you know,
George is not fully himself so to say I'm saying
with quote marks, So there's like a sense of loss there.
(54:34):
I think of like people who have lost people to
dementia or Alzheimer's. It's like that similar kind of grief.
Someone is still with you, but you're still grieving them.
Speaker 4 (54:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (54:45):
I felt that was.
Speaker 1 (54:47):
A really special way to depict loss in Queen Charlotte
and you know, it's just not really seen often.
Speaker 4 (54:56):
Yeah, and I think there's a there's a really beautiful
scene that connects that, you know, which is the first
scene with India and Corey where Charlotte comes out into
the garden and she sees him mad for the first time,
but she decides she chooses to take him in her arms. Yes,
(55:19):
and cares for him. Yes, and cares for him right
up until the time I open that door and go
under the bed with him.
Speaker 5 (55:31):
Yes, that journey through my computer.
Speaker 4 (55:34):
Absolutely, that journey from that moment to the woman you
see in Bridgeton is all of the understanding of that woman,
do you know what I mean? The audience and the fans,
I hope make that connection and go, oh my god, wow.
From that moment that India embraces him and chooses to
(55:55):
become his care I never really understood in sickness and
in health till death has due part, never understood it
before until that moment. And then you join the dots
and the journey to the end scene.
Speaker 1 (56:13):
Yeah, did you and India have any heart to hearts
about Queen Charlotte Because it's in many, many depictions of
a queen and opulence and opportunity. It can get lost.
It certainly isn't lost this time.
Speaker 4 (56:31):
I don't own this role. I really don't. Yes, I'm
the OG, but I wanted to give her Charlotte and
for her to make Charlotte her own. You know, you
can't put anything on Charlotte, you know, you can't kind
(56:53):
of say, oh, you must do this, you must do that,
you must have this look, or you must have this
walk or whatever Charlotte does. She won't allow that. You
need to be you need to take her and make
her your own, you know, because she stands firm in
who you are. She stands firm in how unapologetic you are.
(57:15):
For me, it was all about supporting India in her
journey with this character. So in terms of that chat,
it didn't go that way. It didn't go that way.
Speaker 5 (57:30):
I'm here for it. Yes, Yeah, she.
Speaker 4 (57:34):
Made it her own, you know, And I think that's
it's it's beautiful and somehow in that and I think
that's why, you know, people are saying, oh my god,
it was such such a good fit. You guys, you know,
you look the same. Actually, all of that, I think
that's why she will you know, we allowed her to
(57:55):
take it and run with it and make it her
own and celebrate her as an artist within this character.
Speaker 1 (58:01):
Yes, she tapped in, she clocked in. Yeah she did
found her essence. Yeah, yeah, that's what people are reacting
to that.
Speaker 4 (58:10):
Yeah, she found her essence.
Speaker 5 (58:13):
I like that.
Speaker 4 (58:13):
I'm gonna steal that.
Speaker 1 (58:14):
Yeah. Well, Golda, Golda, Golda Rochevelle. I can't say enough
to thank you for your time today, for their performance
you just left for us on screen.
Speaker 5 (58:30):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (58:32):
You're most well, most welcome.
Speaker 1 (58:35):
And that concludes our episode with the incredible Golda and India,
the talented actresses behind the captivating Queen Charlotte. We are
very grateful for their presence and their artistry and for
charming us with their warmth and their grace. Queen Charlotte
absolutely resonates deeply with audiences worldwide, and it's no wonder
(58:57):
why after speaking with the two of them. They bring
an openness and a grace to the role that only
people of a special sort.
Speaker 5 (59:10):
Carrie.
Speaker 1 (59:10):
It's a light that they carry that comes through that
we're watching and we're witnessing that these are actresses that
have not only written their own narratives, but have also
enriched our lives through this narrative, Shonda Rhimes wrote, and
they delivered that to us. So we are forever grateful
for this moment in time where we can experience it.
(59:35):
I wonder what people are going to say in twenty
years about their depiction of Queen Charlotte. Anyway, again, a heartfelt,
heartfelt thanks for their time. On the next episode, Now.
Speaker 2 (59:48):
There's this amazing moment for me when she asks as
an older Queen Charlotte, she asks Brimsley, why did you
never marry?
Speaker 1 (59:59):
Yeah, yup, Shonda Rhymes, come on back.
Speaker 5 (01:00:04):
Queen Charlotte.
Speaker 1 (01:00:05):
The Official Podcast is executive produced by Sandy Bailey, Lauren Homan,
alex Alja Tyler Klang, and me Gabrielle Collins. Our producer
and editor is Tarry Harrison. Subscribe to the podcast anywhere
you get your favorite shows. Get the book I'm a
Crispy Turn the page, Smell the Binding kind of Queen.
(01:00:25):
But you can download it and you can find Queen
Charlotte a Bridgeton story on Netflix. We'll see you next week.
Queen Charlotte. The Official Podcast is a production of Shondaland
Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
(01:00:48):
favorite shows.
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