The countdown is on until we see Korean-Australian actress Yerin Ha take centre stage in Netflix’s juggernaut, Bridgerton.
Set to be the key love interest in season four, she has carved out a unique path for herself in the industry.
Read more about her here.
Who does Yerin Ha play in Bridgerton?
Yerin is playing this season’s leading lady, Sophie Baek, and the love interest of Benedict Bridgerton, who is played by Luke Thompson.
The fourth season will focus on Julia Quinn’s book, An Offer from a Gentleman.
Benedict and Sophie’s journey to romance begins at Violet Bridgerton’s famous masquerade ball.
Very much inspired by Cinderella, Sophie has been forced to work for one of the most demanding families in the ton, but she manages to disguise herself for the ball.
Instead of a glass slipper, however, Benedict is only left with a silver glove.
“What drew me to Sophie was that she immediately has obstacles — something that she constantly has to overcome,” she previously told Tudum after a day of rehearsals.
“Whether it’s this battle around social status or trying to hide her feelings from Benedict.”
Yerin’s Korean heritage is also celebrated through her character having a Korean surname, rather than the book’s protagonist having the surname Beckett.
She told Tudum that Bridgerton’s showrunner, Jess Brownell, asked her about surnames beginning with B.
“It’s a really nice way for me to feel like the role is fit for me, rather than me having to fit a certain mould,” she said.
“It’s amazing what it can do just in a psychological sense. So it means a lot that Jess did that for me.”
While the Netflix show is known and praised for its diverse cast, she told the Sydney Morning Herald that growing up, she did not relate to watching period pieces due to the lack of representation.
However, she’s a fan of the show and explained the importance of changing her character’s name.
“It just highlights how important it is to have [different] kinds of people leading the shows and being in the show, so younger generations from multicultural backgrounds can see themselves in those dramas as well,” she said.
When it came to her audition, she said it all happened very quickly.
At the time, she was in Korea with her mother when her agent called about the role. A couple of days later, she sent through her tape, and then did a chemistry reading with Luke two days later.
“I was having breakfast with my mum in Gangnam, and I stepped out to take the call because my agent told me that everyone was going to be on the call,” she told Vogue Singapore.
“That’s a good sign, mostly. I had an inkling that it would be positive news, but there was still some doubt. And then I was told I got the role and I started screaming. My mum came out crying because she could tell that I got it.”
How did Yerin Ha get her start?
Before she landed her role in one of Netflix’s most successful shows, Yerin went to an all-girls private school on Sydney’s North Shore and grew up in Turramurra.
Because of the limited acting roles in Australia growing up, the 29-year-old moved overseas.
Her grandmother, Son Sook, is also a well-respected politician and actor in Korea.
“When I went to Korea for holidays, I’d see her in whatever theatre production she was in, and that definitely gave me inspiration,” she said to the Sydney Morning Herald.
She also told Vogue Singapore that her grandfather reminded her about the power of art and made her feel the weight of being an actor.
Then, at the age of 15, she moved to Seoul to study at Kaywon High School of Arts.
After that, she moved back to Sydney and kept studying acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, graduating in 2018.
In the following year, she starred in Sydney Theatre Company’s 2019 production of Lord of the Flies and was a part of the Reef Break series.
Fast forward to 2022, and she featured in Steven Spielberg’s series Halo, as well as the drama series Troppo, and the Aussie indie psychological horror film Sissy.
What is Yerin Ha famous for?
Along with her role in Halo, Yerin is also known for her role in the mini series Bad Behaviour, where she played a bullied schoolgirl. It also earned her a Most Outstanding Supporting Actress Logie nomination.
In 2024, she also starred in Dune: Prophecy and Netflix’s miniseries The Survivors.
Now, she can add Bridgerton to the list.
