{"id":246182,"date":"2026-01-22T13:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T13:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/246182\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T13:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T13:48:10","slug":"bridgertons-yerin-ha-and-luke-thompson-on-sophie-and-benedicts-cinderella-inspired-love-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/246182\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridgerton’s Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson on Sophie and Benedict’s Cinderella-Inspired Love Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first time Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson met in person was on the doorstep of Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell\u2019s London apartment. She had invited the two of them to her home to eat tacos before production on season four began. Thompson was standing outside when Ha\u2019s Uber pulled up, and he waited for her before entering. \u201cHe just immediately had his arms open and gave a long hug, and I [thought], \u2018Oh, you\u2019re a nice person. You have a heart of gold,\u2019\u201d Ha says. \u201cI\u2019m a big believer in energy, and I was like, \u2018I think you match mine.\u2019\u201d Their hug, Ha says, was captured by Brownell\u2019s ring camera\u2014though not saved. \u201cThat video would have been iconic,\u201d Ha jokes, \u201cbut it lives in my brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

They had previously connected over Zoom, for a chemistry reading. Thompson had three seasons portraying the second-eldest Bridgerton, Benedict, under his belt; just days earlier Ha had submitted a self-taped audition to play season four\u2019s leading lady, Sophie. Thompson remembers immediately thinking \u201cwe found what we\u2019re looking for\u201d during that reading; their chemistry, Brownell recalls, \u201cjumped out of the screen.\u201d The two read the lake scene\u2014no spoilers, but it\u2019s a key moment in Benedict and Sophie\u2019s love story that readers of An Offer from a Gentleman<\/a>, the Julia Quinn novel that inspired this season of Netflix\u2019s hit Regency romance, will recognize. Soon afterward, Ha landed the role of Sophie Beckett<\/a>, whose last name was quickly changed to Baek as a nod to Ha\u2019s Korean heritage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had an intuition that we were just going to discover it as we went along,\u201d Thompson says of their characters\u2019 courtship, \u201cthat we weren\u2019t going to try and force anything and that we weren\u2019t going to really work hard at somehow making chemistry happen. We just were like, \u2018Okay, let\u2019s go on this adventure together.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LukeJenny Anderson<\/p>\n

Luke Thompson wears a Ralph Lauren Purple Label Sweater and Trousers; Yerin Ha wears a Dior marini\u00e8re polo shirt and skirt, and Dior Fine Jewelry \u00c9toile des Vents Single Earring.<\/p>\n

Thompson knew he and Ha had clicked in character as Benedict and Sophie, but he was relieved that they also connected in real life. \u201cWe did get on, and it is a weird kind of thing because it\u2019s not a prerequisite,\u201d he says. \u201cChemistry in life doesn\u2019t necessarily translate into chemistry [on screen]. Actors are much more comfortable living in that make-believe world\u2014I was probably much shyer meeting her in real life than doing the scenes.\u201d That ease and trust would prove essential once cameras started rolling, because the tale Ha and Thompson were tasked with bringing to life is one of Bridgerton\u2019s most beloved.<\/p>\n

Benedict and Sophie\u2019s relationship in this season is drawn from the Cinderella fairy tale. Benedict, an artistic, pansexual version of Prince Charming, meets Sophie, a maid in her abusive stepmother\u2019s home, at a masquerade ball hosted by his mother, Violet Bridgerton. \u201cIt\u2019s such a classic story,\u201d says Brownell. \u201cThe idea of being a humble housemaid who the prince chooses and sees as being the special one amongst an entire crowd. There\u2019s real wish fulfillment there, but it was important for us to have a modern take on it and not have Sophie just be a damsel in distress who\u2019s waiting for Benedict to choose her. She is someone who\u2019s focused on her own life and her survival in her station.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ha grew up loving the classic fairy tale (and A Cinderella Story, the 2004 romcom starring Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray\u2014she jokes that Benedict\u2019s masquerade ball outfit is a nod to the Zorro costume in the film). \u201cCinderella is my favorite princess,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen I was younger, I had this pink tutu dress with her face on it, and I would ask my mom if I could wear it every day.\u201d Cinderella\u2019s narrative appeals, she says, because of the \u201cescapism of feeling seen at first sight by someone. You don\u2019t see their class. He just sees this beautiful woman, and she sees this charming prince. People will dream of that fairytale love.\u201d Bridgerton\u2019s take is a little more real, though: \u201cIt\u2019s not all glitz and glamour. It\u2019s not as easy as people make it out to be. We dive a little bit deeper, with more of the realness of what it is to actually fall in love with someone at first sight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"loading\"Luke<\/p>\n

Benedict, Thompson thinks, is particularly suited to this type of romance. \u201cIt goes to the heart of his character,\u201d he says. In the first three seasons, Benedict is easygoing and floating through life. \u201cHe loves the romance and the fairytale nature of things, but he’s not so good with reality and what that actually requires\u2014maybe negotiating a real relationship with someone. He\u2019s a bit stuck in fairy land.\u201d Meeting someone like Sophie, firmly rooted in the struggles of the real world, shakes Benedict’s perception of himself. \u201cHer problem is that maybe she doesn\u2019t dare to dream so much, so they complete each other in that way,\u201d Thompson says. \u201cThere\u2019s something very modern about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of part one of Bridgerton season four finds Benedict looking for his \u201cLady in Silver\u201d and ignoring the reality of Sophie\u2014and the fact that she could be the woman he\u2019s searching for. \u201cIt\u2019s actually quite Shakespearean,\u201d says Thompson. \u201cYou have to take it in a more metaphorical sense, which is what\u2019s interesting. Why doesn\u2019t he recognize her? It says something about this character that he can\u2019t quite connect fantasy and reality\u2014and maybe, on a subconscious level, Benedict is scared of putting those sides of his life together and actually committing to a relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LukeJenny Anderson<\/p>\n

Thompson in a Louis Vuitton jacket and shirt, and trousers.<\/p>\n

The first scene Ha and Thompson filmed was not their \u201clove at first sight\u201d moment at the ball but rather a small scene that takes place in episode three at My Cottage, Benedict\u2019s countryside retreat. As he recovers from an injury, he teaches Sophie to fly a kite. That interaction, Brownell says, symbolizes \u201cwhat they mean to each other. Sophie needs to allow herself to dream of joy, and Benedict needs to commit to purpose.\u201d Both actors were grateful that the kite sequence was how they began season four, and view it as fortuitous it was their first \u201cBenophie\u201d moment together.<\/p>\n

\"TwoNetflix<\/p>\n

The very first day Ha and Thompson were on set for Bridgerton season four, in a scene for the third episode.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe weather was beautiful. I was wearing Daphne\u2019s borrowed dress. I felt really beautiful. I felt like Cinderella,\u201d Ha recalls. \u201cThe kite scene was a really good parallel of me letting my walls down and being able to trust this person, actor to actor. It was really sweet. That was the day where I thought, \u2018I\u2019m going to be okay for 10 months, or however long this shoot is. We will have each other’s backs.\u2019\u201d That day, Ha says, \u201cencapsulated a lot of feelings for me\u2014and trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was doubly meaningful for Thompson. First, it was confirmation that Ha was the right person to play Sophie. \u201cShe doesn’t overplay anything. She\u2019s so subtle, Yerin, as an actor, and that\u2019s really rare and really cool and requires a lot of confidence. She\u2019s confident to just keep it true. That\u2019s amazing to work with, because it means that you\u2019ve got a lot of honesty coming your way, which means it\u2019s very difficult to not be honest back,\u201d he says. Second, the kite, he says, symbolizes their characters\u2019 journey. \u201cWhen Benedict is in that romantic vein, there’s endless choice and endless possibility and endless freedom. It\u2019s actually very difficult to tie him down, which is why the kite\u2019s quite a nice symbol, really. It crystallizes their relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"YerinJenny Anderson<\/p>\n

Ha in a Gucci dress and Harry Winston Secret Combination Hoop Earrings.<\/p>\n

Ha\u2019s experience of stepping into a lead role on the show was different from Thompson\u2019s, but he was there to welcome her to the set. \u201cHe was always like, \u2018If you need anything, just always come and talk to me,\u2019\u201d she says. That sense of mutual respect shaped their performances and the way both actors approached their characters\u2019 love story. \u201cI\u2019ve been able to watch all three previous leads do it their own way,\u201d Thompson says. \u201cIt\u2019s so personal. I don\u2019t think anyone does anything great on their own. I really don\u2019t. This job, it\u2019s not really about what any one person is wonderful at. It\u2019s about what happens between people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their chemistry, then, is clearly rooted in the deep trust between the two actors, which began on Zoom, continued at Brownell\u2019s apartment over tacos, and blossomed at the My Cottage set. \u201cBuilding trust takes time, and opening up to someone takes time, and I didn\u2019t want to force that, ever,\u201d Ha says. She adds that her co-star is \u201cso generous and open as an actor. He\u2019s pushed me to want to be a better actor.\u201d Even from Thompson and Ha\u2019s first night meeting in person, Brownell says, Thompson \u201creally took an elder brother role in terms of being a guide for Yerin and being very protective of her. That emerged on night one\u2014and I think that\u2019s such a special thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LukeJenny Anderson<\/p>\n

Ha wears a Ralph Lauren Collection Dress and Cartier High Jewelry necklace, and Thompson wears a Louis Vuitton jacket, shirt, and trousers.<\/p>\n

Still, stepping into the heels of Netflix\u2019s version of Cinderella was intimidating for Ha. \u201cI didn\u2019t think someone who looked like me could play a character like that, especially in such a Western, Hollywood, American production.\u201d But playing a leading lady\u2014especially one like Sophie\u2014excited her. \u201cI never thought that that was going to be a thing that I would do, especially in Bridgerton, a Regency drama.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her journey offscreen this season was one of working through impostor syndrome. \u201cI’m just trying to believe that I\u2019m where I am because people have seen something in me, and I have really good friends and family members to remind me of that when my doubtful voice gets too loud.\u201d Playing Sophie has helped. \u201cI\u2019ve learned that maybe I\u2019ve limited myself in terms of what dreams I had for myself. This job has taught me that actually I can dream bigger\u2014and I should dream bigger, and that nothing is too big if you really want it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CoupleNetflix<\/p>\n

Sophie and Benedict meet at a masquerade ball hosted by Benedict\u2019s mother in the first episode.<\/p>\n

While all the seasons of Bridgerton are interconnected, each leaning into a different trope (fake dating, enemies to lovers<\/a>, friends to lovers<\/a>), this season\u2019s Cinderella tale feels like a fresh start for the romance. For the first time the show goes downstairs into the lives of the servants, but the new energy can be credited to the two leads grounding the plot\u2014Ha and Thompson set the tone on set with their warmth and sensitivity.<\/p>\n

From the point of view of Bridgerton\u2019s showrunner, there\u2019s no one else who could bring Benedict and Sophie to life. \u201cThe character of Benedict could be viewed in the wrong hands as a bit of a cad, but because of Luke\u2019s sensitivity, you feel that he\u2019s a person who\u2019s lost, a person who\u2019s looking for meaning in life but hasn\u2019t quite found that yet,\u201d Brownell says. \u201cAnd Yerin, I really feel like she\u2019s the only person who could play Sophie. She is such an old soul, and you really feel the depth in her and the internal world and the history of her life in her performance. She also has incredible physical comedy and brings a real sense of humor to this maid\u2019s situation, which is grim in certain ways. The pair of them together, it\u2019s just magical.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"townTown & Country<\/p>\n

Thompson wears a Herm\u00e8s double-breasted suit, shirt and tie; Yerin wears a Gucci dress and Harry Winston Secret Combination Hoop Earrings.<\/p>\n

Photographs by Jenny Anderson<\/a>
Styled by Deborah Watson<\/a> at Walter Schupfer Management<\/p>\n

Hair (Yerin Ha) by Takuya Yamaguchi<\/a>, makeup by Misha Shahzada<\/a>, and manicure by Rita Remark<\/a> at Bryan Bantry Agency. Grooming (Luke Thompson) by Melissa DeZarate<\/a>. Set design by Chelsea Maruskin<\/a> at Art Department. Wallpaper Courtesy of Schumacher<\/a>. Tailoring by Samantha McElrath.<\/p>\n

In lead image, Yerin Ha is wearing Gucci dress and Harry Winston Secret Combination Hoop Earrings and Sparkling Cluster Diamond Ring. Luke Thompson is wearing Herm\u00e8s double-breasted suit, shirt, and tie.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Emily Burack (she\/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.<\/p>\n