Ha and Bridgerton co-star Luke Thompson on Valentine’s Day 2025
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‘Being the newcomer is always quite nerve-wracking, and you just want to make sure you fit in and bring in a nice vibe,’ Ha told Elle of the experience, adding that her co-stars “welcomed me in from the beginning’ and ‘never made me feel like an outsider.’ She got the call while visiting her mother in Korea and found herself crying on the streets of Gangnam.
And Ha has brought her Korean heritage back to Bridgerton, with showrunner Jess Brownell changing the character’s surname from Beckett to better fit Ha’s background – a subtle bit of representation that she believes the show handles with grace. ‘What I love about Bridgerton is that it shows representation in a way that doesn’t require over-explaining, like this doesn’t have to be a “Korean” story,’ the actress told Glamour. ‘I love that it shows we can all coexist in this space and not have it be a big thing. Also, Benedict falls in love with Sophie as a person, and it’s about fighting for the person on the inside.’
If her character’s Cinderella story sees her land with a ‘wicked’ stepmother (though perhaps Lady Araminta Gun, played by Harry Potter star Katie Leung, is more of a tiger mum), Ha’s real-life mother is nothing but an inspiration to her. ‘I’m so grateful she’s my mum,” the actress said in Elle. ‘She just – I get emotional about it – she treats people with kindness no matter her situation or how tired she is or how stressed she is, she will always treat everyone with equality, and that’s something she’s taught me is that kindness doesn’t cost anything, and that’s how I think you gain respect from people.’
