Since Lady Whistledown is all about judging a book by its cover (or a rumor), we figured it might behoove the fans to get to know the cast of Netflix’s newest period drama, Bridgerton, more intimately. With the series now streaming, we’ve concocted a part-serious/part-silly question-and-answer rundown so that you can find out what makes these actors tick and what makes their characters tock.
Ruth Gemmell plays Lady Violet Bridgerton, the matriarch of the Bridgerton family. She is kind and gentle (unless you cross her!) and suffered a huge loss with the death of her husband a decade ago. But it didn’t diminish her capacity to love her children and to preserve her family’s legacy. And just like her character, Gemmell knows how to keep a secret!
And we thought pairing one strong woman with another would suit just well. Lady Danbury is played by Adjoa Andoh. She is a formidable woman of wealth and stature who, though she doesn’t have any children of her own, seems to relish in the Bridgerton children’s coming and goings. And of course, she’s taken Simon under her wing from a very early age. She’s been a wonderful influence on him and knows when to butt her cane in and when to stand down.
The two characters are very close and want what’s best for the next generation. Here, Gemmell and Andoh give us a little insight into the women they play and the women they are off-screen.
What do you have in common with your character?
RUTH GEMMELL: I adore my children
ADJOA ANDOH: I manifest an enormous sense of self-importance and grandeur while actually being quite anxious! (See episode two to understand what I’m talking about.)
What do you not have in common with your character?
RG: I don’t have eight children!
AA: Income; property; aristocracy; And, well, I have three children, she has none, and my husband is alive.
What’s your favorite time of day and why?
RG: I love both the sunset or the sunrise — the colors can be stunning.
AA: I also love dawn and dusk. It’s a magic time when the world is waking up or going to sleep.
What’s your character’s favorite time of day and why?
RG: Teatime! It’s a chance to catch up with all in the household and perhaps find out more than they are willing to tell me.
AA: Late night when she can reflect on the day past and plot out her moves for the day ahead in the peace and silence of the late night.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
RG: That I like DIY.
AA: I was a punk at 14 — it’s my lifelong love. And I’m also a preacher in the Church of England.
At one point, Penelope is told to put down her book else she “confuse her thoughts.” Let’s show Lady Featherington what’s what — what is your favorite book and why?
RG: Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. It’s such an extraordinary, heartbreaking, confusing, hilarious, devastating read.
AA: Beloved by Toni Morrison. The writing is stunning, the wisdom sustaining, the pain is honest and raw, the women fierce, the men gentle and the hope credible.
Have you ever ridden a horse?
RG: I fell off a donkey when I was a child! I would love to learn how to ride a horse though — to feel that independent.
AA: I grew up in the Cotswolds, the rural southwest of England in the 1960s and '70s. My brother and I rode horses all the time. At riding school, my horse, Flash, was black with a white blaze 14.2 hands high. There was little public transport at the time, and we lived in tiny villages spread apart, many of my friends would visit each other on horseback! We loved following Badminton Horse Trials every year. We filmed some of Bridgerton at Badminton House, actually, really close to where I grew up. I cried; I felt like I’d come full circle. I drove over to my dad’s after shooting there.
What musical instrument do you play?
RG: I tried and failed to learn the piano at school.
AA: Piano, cello, violin — all horrifically rusty!
Feathers or bows?
AA: I’ve been a vegetarian since 1979, so never feathers. But I don’t like bows either unless it’s a slick bowtie!
Diamonds or pearls?
AA: Diamonds are usually mined by people who are poor and powerless, so I’ll choose diamonds only if they’re fair trade and conflict-free.
There were many furry and feathered guest stars on the show. Any fun moments with them?
RG: I remember that the parrots at one of the balls were loud… really loud.
What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you recently?
RG: Something too embarrassing to reveal!
AA: Recently, I’ve been on welcome duty at church and having to tick names off at the door for Covid-19 records, and I keep having to ask names of people I have been saying hello to for years.
Who inspires you?
RG: Right now, those who look after us.
AA: Writers Bessie Head, Ama Ata Aidoo, Chinua Achebe, Toni Morrison and Toni Cade Bambara. Fast-talking, wise-cracking women pioneer performers Bessie Smith, Mae West, Kathryn Hepburn, Queen Latifah and Beyoncé. On the world stage there is Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan social, environmental and political activist and the first African woman Nobel Prize winner. In my own life, people who work quietly, diligently, generously for the good of others — community activists, faith workers, counsellors, care workers. Not shiny but the world turns because of their grace.
Who was the person who most influenced you and how?
RG: My mother — her grace, resilience and kindness which I still strive to achieve in my own life.
AA: Actor-writer-counsellor Deb’bora John Wilson. I was unhappy as I was working toward my degree in law and we were in a Black Women’s Group together in Bristol when I bailed on my degree. She really saw me, took me into her drama class and eventually I auditioned for a show of hers in London. I got the job and that was me for life.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to act?
AA: Don’t, unless there is nothing else you want to do. It is hard, sometimes brutal, but if it is your gift, then it is the most transformational, joyous, endeavor, in which case…you go! Work hard! Do your prep! You do you! Be courteous and thoughtful because the assistant you are rude to will one day be a producer. It is the law!
If you weren’t an actress/actor, what do you think you’d be?
RG: Something that involves designing — inside or outside.
AA: I’d love to have been either an architect, creating something where there was nothing before. Or a bass player in a punk band.
Is there a character in the series, that is not your own, that you are drawn to or can relate to and why?
RG: I am drawn to Eloise. I admire her strength of character, her humor, and I am slightly envious of her outspokenness — direct but fair and always with charm.
AA: Lady Featherington. She is always desperately trying to make things happen to keep her family afloat and she’s not hugely successful, but always trying!
Valentina Valentini is a London-based entertainment, travel and food writer for Vanity Fair, Vulture, Variety, Thrillist, Heated and many more. Her personal essays can be read in the Los Angeles Times, Longreads, and The Washington Post. Her tangents and general complaints can be seen on Twitter at @ByValentinaV .
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