Ha Ye-rin, who plays Sophie, the female lead in Bridgerton 4, spoke of her bond with her maternal grandmother, actress Son Sook.
Netflix Korea held a press conference for the original series Bridgerton 4 on the afternoon of the 4th at Community Masil in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Ha Ye-rin, who played Sophie, the female lead in Bridgerton 4, attended the event. Under the moderation of broadcaster Park Kyung-rim, she spoke with domestic reporters about the work and her recent activities.
Bridgerton is based on Julia Quinn's bestselling novels and is set in Britain's Regency era, portraying the love stories of the Bridgerton family in London high society. In season 4, Benedict, the Bridgerton family's second son, showed a love that transcended social status with Sophie Beck, a maid born out of wedlock, earning intense popularity. Riding that wave, the series reached No. 1 on Netflix's global series chart and became a major topic of conversation in Korea as well, reaching as high as No. 2 despite being an overseas series.
In particular, Ha Ye-rin, who plays Sophie, the female lead, has attracted intense interest as a Korean-descended actress raised in Australia. She is also the maternal granddaughter of Son Sook, a grand dame of Korean theater, and through Bridgerton 4 she has been praised for appearing as the female lead of a globally popular series as a Korean actress.
What did her grandmother Son Sook actually say or think after watching it? Ha Ye-rin said with an awkward laugh, "My grandmother didn't really give me any advice," and added, "My grandmother watched the whole show. I sent her photos and it seemed like she watched them with her juniors. Her eyesight isn't good. She texted that she watched it close to the TV and that she was proud and loves me, which felt warm and bittersweet. She watched the exposure scenes and said she was a bit surprised," she joked.
She also said, "When I was young I tried to visit my grandmother at least once a year. What impressed me most was a one-woman play. I clearly remember a scene where she held a pillow like a baby and cried. The audience cried too, and I thought about the power of art. In the end, people are the same and emotions are the same, and I thought it was so wonderful that through theater you can give comfort to people. And because my grandmother stood on stage herself and showed that it could really be a career, she always gave me great inspiration."
Son Sook is currently performing the play The Old Man's Dream, and Ha Ye-rin said, "I'm planning to see it tomorrow. She leaves again on Friday, but she really wanted me to come see it, so I'm going to," she said with a laugh. She added, "This morning I saw my grandmother at another shoot. In the past it was Son Sook's granddaughter Ha Ye-rin, but these days she says it's Ha Ye-rin, grandmother Son Sook, which makes me feel both bittersweet and proud. My grandmother always says things like 'I have no regrets now, it's okay if I go back tomorrow,'" which moved her.
[Photo] Provided by Netflix.
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