Bridgerton Star Ha: Romance Isn't Taken Seriously

Yerin Ha, celebrated for her role as Sophie Baek in the fourth season of Bridgerton, expressed her view that the romance genre is often not taken seriously. Despite this, she observes a significant public appetite for such stories.

Ha portrays a Cinderella-like housemaid, a character who exists outside the traditional upper-class Regency fantasy of the show. Her performance emphasizes Sophie's love, desire, and resentment, bringing a crucial transparency to the romance.

Currently, Ha is engaged in a rigorous global press tour for Bridgerton, having recently attended the AACTA Awards in Australia. Her schedule includes upcoming events in New York and potentially South Korea.

Ha's upbringing in Sydney, with parents who instilled Korean culture, included disliking Korean language lessons. Her ambition to perform was evident early, with her mother noting her responsiveness to musicals during pregnancy.

She later studied at Kaywon High School of Arts in Korea for three years, a formative experience that involved strict adherence to hierarchy. This was followed by studies at NIDA in Australia.

Ha gained early recognition for her role in the Paramount+ adaptation of Halo, though the character faced backlash from the game's fandom. She notes that even critics of Bridgerton often praise her performance, despite other issues with the show.

Filming Bridgerton's intimacy scenes presented a personal challenge, prompting discussions with co-star Luke Thompson about body image and societal beauty standards, particularly within Asian culture.

Despite her current platform, Ha does not anticipate an easy path to securing meaningful roles, acknowledging that Hollywood's diversity efforts still have limitations for Asian actors.

Looking ahead, Ha intends to be more selective about future projects, expressing a desire to move into filmmaking and work closely with directors like Park Chan-wook. She has also turned down auditions for adaptations of properties like Fourth Wing.