‘Bridgerton’ Star Simone Ashley Said Charithra Chandran Is a ‘Diamond in Real Life’
Charithra Chandran is one of the breakout stars of one of Netflix’s biggest hits Bridgerton. The star has been in other projects before, but her turn as Edwina Sharma in the series has put her on the map. Chandran’s character on Bridgerton was named the diamond of the season, but her onscreen sister says she’s also “a diamond in real life.”
Simone Ashley says Charithra Chandran is just like her ‘Bridgerton’ character
Family is at the heart of the Netflix show, with Bridgerton using the traditional unit to display power and societal standing. While the Sharmas don’t particularly hold any standing in the ton’s politics, they are shown as a very close-knit circle of three, and the love between the Sharma sisters is very strong.
Ashley sat down with Shondaland to talk more about her character and time on the show. When asked how it was bringing the sisterly bond between her and Chandran’s characters to the screen, the actor only had positive things to say.
“It was very important for us to explore the love between Edwina and Kate, and I always thought that from the beginning that, yes, there’s the love story between Anthony and Kate, but then there’s the love story between Edwina and Kate.”
The Sex Education star gushed about her onscreen sister, saying,
“Charithra truly is a diamond in real life. She brought such a warm energy to set every day. She was so much fun, always positive, always in a good mood, always bringing it.”
Ashley said she felt “honored” to work with Chandran to bring their relationship as sisters to life. The star said filming with Chandran and their onscreen mother, actor Shelley Conn made her feel like they were a real family.
Other cast members gushed about working with Charithra Chandran
Ashley isn’t the only Bridgerton star to speak highly of Chandran. Golda Rosheuvel, who plays Queen Charlotte, told Decider in 2022, “I worked with Charithra the most, and she is exquisite, absolutely exquisite. Her attention to detail and her wanting to learn and ask questions. We had lots of amazing scenes together.”
Adjoah Andoh, who stars as Lady Danbury, said of Chandran, “She’s pretty fresh-faced and new to this game and super smart, super bright, super focused, super curious about everything.” Andoh said Chandran wanted to learn about everything from lighting to camera angles, saying of her experience working with Ashley and Chandran, “They were really fun to work with, really nice, nice women.”
Simone Ashley and Charithra Chandran had excellent chemistry as sisters
Ashley and Chandran starred in the second season of Netflix’s Bridgerton as the Sharma sisters, who return to the ton after their father dies. Ashley plays Chandran’s older sister Kate who is very protective of her and wants the best for her. Their mother comes from a very wealthy family, but she left everything behind to marry Kate’s poor father leading to her disgrace from the ton.
Their return, however, has several strings attached as their grandparents, the Sheffields, laid the conditions that their granddaughter Edwina should be married off to a well-off man with a title if they wished to inherit something. Kate, as Edwina’s stepsister, is ineligible for the inheritance, so she encourages Edwina to marry well so their family would be financially comfortable.
She, however, doesn’t like the season’s bachelor Anthony Bridgerton, finding him callous. The pair frequently rub shoulders, and their tiff sometimes gets in the way of Edwina and Anthony’s engagement. However, in true enemies-to-lovers fashion, Kate and Anthony fall in love, leaving Edwina without a suitor until the end when the Queen suggests she gets acquainted with her nephew, the prince.
