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Introducing the Sharmas, the Newest Regency Family on ‘Bridgerton’

Jonathan Bailey Has Always Had Anthony Bridgerton’s Back

The ‘Bridgerton’ Cast Questionnaire: Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley Give Us Some Kanthony Insights

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(upbeat classical music) - What we see in this season is the story about Anthony being the heir, being the eldest brother. And it kind of tells us about the importance of the aristocratic family in Regency London. All the pressure that's on him to make the right kind of marriage, the future of the family, how the estate will be looked after, all of the kind of inheritance that he brings with him. People's expectations, their relationships between each other. And it's a reminder to us that, this Regency London season, it's not just a world of individuals. It's about families sorting out their futures, about the histories that those families bring. And you get a lot of the characters questioning who am I really, am I anybody outside of this family network? (upbeat classical music) - I think the funny thing about season two is the dynamic has shifted between Anthony and Daphne and now Daphne sort of really knows. And she knows about love, she knows about marriage. Anthony thinks he knows about marriage and love but actually he doesn't. And I think Daphne's the empowered one. And Anthony is having a slight identity crisis, perhaps. (upbeat piano music) - I think it's complicated his relationship with his mother. And I think his sense of family is one of just desperately trying to be good. And I think the noises in his head that are criticizing him are really loud. And especially when he sees the people around him upset or confused. Really Anthony became a surrogate husband and partner to his mom as well as a surrogate father to his siblings. And we see that in series two. And we go back to the time where they lost the dad and how that affected the mom and how, in death, Anthony was abandoned by his father but he was also abandoned emotionally by his mother because she had to deal with the grief. And it seems like that is such a huge and brilliant concept to see how people have experienced love within their family which is supposed to be their safe place. And then how that then bleeds into the way they treat the people that they end up choosing to fall in love with outside of their family, when they're older. I think that is a really fascinating thing. And I think that's why it's important to have seen Anthony with Sienna in series one, to see that his sense of abandonment means that he keeps, he was pushing and pull pushing and pull, not getting anywhere near to a place of vulnerability because that scares him. And he feels like he's gonna' be lost or hurt someone. So it's all in there. And that's why I think, tonally, it's a different series to series one - You know, in season one you sort of saw so many people struggling to express themselves and like holding onto all of these like feelings and not being able to say things. And that's the drama of the show, right? It takes episodes for someone to be like, I burn for you. Like, nice one. Eloise doesn't have that problem. She just like, and it just comes out. I think they sort of adore her for that. And we, like, it says, that is the power of a family, isn't it. That all of your quirks, even if they're crap which some of them will be, 'cause we're all human being, you're gonna' have some crap quirks, your family will still be like, yeah but they're my brother's crap quirks. And they mean everything to me. - We see Benedict enjoying being with the family but also wanting something a bit more. And wanting to find something that's just his and not the family's. There's part of him that's trying to escape it and trying to define himself. Which I guess that's actually sort of the structure of the series generally is, each sibling going off and finding love which is essentially like redefining yourself outside your family on some kind of level. - That's what I love about this show is that it shows all those different paths and relationships and also how, a sibling could fit into the role of a parent, very much like Anthony does for Colin. He almost feels more like a father figure. So there's things that he doesn't wanna' talk to him about and things that he does need to talk to him about. So yeah, I think it's just great for people to relate to and go, I'm probably a Colin in that situation. Or I'm an Eloise in that situation. - Our family dynamic has changed a lot from year one to year two, actually, in that, her dad's passed away under mysterious circumstances and her sisters are, she's sort of not part of that little gang of the two of them. Her mom doesn't pay attention to her. And then you have Jack coming in who's this sort of new energy and Marina's gone. So it's sort of all flipped on its head. And I think she very much doesn't feel part of that. She feels more at home when she's with the Bridgerton's, because she, I think, ultimately that's all she really wants is to be a Bridgerton. And she loves that, you know, they can fight but they truly love each other. And there is love in the Featherington's but it's just not, it's very deep buried in there. It's not sort of outright like hug-y, love-dovey type thing. - I think Lady Danbury's view is that you make your family where can. I think she understands, as I think many people do who may not have had the most certain entrance into the world, that life is fragile. Relationship is crucial. - [Director] And so guys, if everybody can go to their first position We're gonna' do this in stages. So we'll do Featherington's first and then we'll stop. And then we'll move on from there. - Mary had to create her own family, having been disowned by her original family, the Sheffields, which she did. And they're a blended family. You know, her husband already had a marriage, he had a daughter and she has taken Kate on as her own. And then they welcomed Edwina. - So I think Edwina's such a loving and kind person. And I think she's entirely selfless when it comes to her family. They're her everything. I like to say that Kate and Edwina are actually soulmates. They're each other's everything. But the way that Edwina's been brought up, and in a way it's not even her fault, is that she is the center of her family's universe. So in many ways she expects that as well. Which isn't always a positive thing. And when she comes to England and she realizes that's not the case, and her mom has her own life, and her older sister especially has her own life. I think it does come as a bit of a shock to her 'cause she's so used to her family sacrificing everything for her. - Well, Kate's a bit of a lone wolf. She's lost both of her parents, Mary being her step mum and Edwina being her stepsister. And I think she hasn't dealt with a lot of that and she's running away from the truth of that. And instead putting all of her energy in putting other people first and focusing on her duty and responsibility and putting Mary and Edwina first. And I think after all that, she's kind of left with herself. (upbeat music) - We are all from dysfunctional families. There's no family that functions, but we can understand so much of the nuances between them, whether it is the Bridgerton's, or the Featherington's, or the Sheffield Sharma's. I think family is one of the most easily accessible ways into the human psyche. - New people that have come in, like Rupert Young who plays Jack, we just adore him. And Charithra, and Simone, and Shelley are just wonderful. They fit right in. They brought this new, fresh energy. And then even like the people that people don't see on screen like the crew, so many of them have come back and that's always a really good sign because you know if it's a terrible job, like the crew will be all new when you come back. But the fact that that's not the case, it speaks volumes. (group chatting indistinctly) (Director claps) (actors clap) - [Actors] Bridgerton! - [Crew Member] Camera's are set. - Ready, and action! (calm music) - You know, when you hear people speak about things and they're like, it was honestly amazing, really loved each other, and you sort of think all right, this genuinely like we, sometimes we look at each other and we're like, thank goodness for us all. - Like the family atmosphere makes me feel confident. And I don't mean in an arrogant way. I just mean in a way that enables you to let go and fuck up. Am I allowed to say that? And for it not to be a problem. - I guess family is really important to me anyway. And it feels like they brought together people who have a similar value in leaning into each other, supporting each other, and in having as much fun, and working as hard as you can at the same time. And that seems to be a balance that we all really enjoy. - I think it's so fun for us. And actually it's very authentic 'cause we all do have a giggle. Not so much fun for the directors because we won't shut up half the time. But it was so nice being reunited with the whole gang. We are like a little family, which is so nice. (dramatic music) - The truthfulness of storytelling I think is really important when you have a close-knit family. Yes, that is centered around the story, but also from that center an extended family is created through, you know, by myself, and Adjoa, and then the crew, and then, you know, your hair and makeup and costume, all that core family dynamic really spills out beautifully to other dimensions of the show, and cast, and crew. (dramatic music) - It can be a huge key to a shows success because it's like a magical alchemy. You can try and manufacture it but just nine times outta' 10, I feel like it doesn't work. - Yeah, if you didn't have that strong support in the center of it all, yeah, we might not all be so joyous together. (dramatic music)