WORDS OF WISDOM
Best advice I was given
If you can put your mind to
something, you can do itAdvice I’d give
Be truthful; always play;
and empathy is the actor’s
superpowerWhat I wish I’d known
That it would all turn out
all rightR
osheuvel was born in
Guyana, South America,
and came to England
with her family aged
five. She studied
musical theatre at the
London Studio Centre and
went on to television roles in
The Bill and Silent Witness.
Her stage credits include
Angels in America and
Othello. Rosheuvel plays
Queen Charlotte, the wife of
King George III, in Netflix’s
second most-watched show,
Bridgerton. She lives in south
London with her partner,
Shireen, a playwright.When we’re filming Bridgerton,
I set my alarm for 3.30am. At
that time of the morning, let’s
be honest, it’s a slow crawl out
of bed. Then I do a cardio
workout on a mini trampoline
to get myself going. Filming
days are still so exciting. When
the car collects me and I’m
travelling through London,
I love being one of the first
people up. It feels sacred.
Most of Queen Charlotte’s
scenes are filmed on location.
My favourite is Wilton House
in Salisbury. Queen Charlotte
herself actually stayed there
and we filmed in the bedroom
she slept in. As soon as I walked
in I felt I knew exactly who this
character was.
For some reason, India Arie’s
album Worthy helps me to
get into character. I’m dyslexic
and the music helps the lines go
in. And there’s an attitude to
India herself that lends itself to
Queen Charlotte.
My go-to breakfast on set is
hash browns, vegan sausages,
baked beans, avocado, a coffee
and an orange juice. Then it’s
hair and make-up, which takesabout two-and-a-half hours. If
my wig is one of the heavier
ones, the less time that it’s on
the better. It’s like wearing a
sculpture. I’m honoured to wear
them but by four in the
afternoon they start to ache.
I’m double-corseted, which
can be dificult. If I get hot, they
stick to my skin and we need to
loosen them up. It is incredible
what those women had to go
through. Just going to the toilet
is an ordeal. I have a wonderful
dresser called Lauren, who
carries a fan all the time. I just
give her a look and she knows.
I was born in Guyana, where
my dad’s from. He was a priest,
and he met my mum, who’s
English, in Barbados through a
choir. They spent time living inthe bush in Guyana where Dad
would preach to indigenous
people. Mum tells a story of
strapping me to her back as a
baby and walking through the
jungle to take communion.
Travelling and communication
with others was instilled in me
from an early age.
After we came to England we
stayed with my uncle in Surrey,
then Dad got a job as a parish
priest in Worksop, so we moved
there and later to Bishop’s
Stortford in Essex. I was very
sporty at school, and there was
a brief moment when I could
have gone for the Olympics. But
I had an injury, acting took over
and the rest is history, really.
For lunch I’m out of the
corset. I usually have a salad.
If you eat too much before you
get back into wardrobe, you
regret it. I do have a sweet tooth,
though, so I’ll have pudding.
When the whole cast is on
set, the directors have a terrible
time shutting us up. It’s all,
“How’s the dog?”, “How are
the kids?” We couldn’t have
dreamt that the show would
be so big [it has been streamed
by 82 million households].
Shonda Rhimes, the executive
producer, has the Midas touch.
People needed an escape from
the pandemic and this is a
period drama that can connect
to the modern sensibility. My
character is getting a spin-off
too — how incredible is that?
Giving black and brown
actors a platform to shine — to
have money, have sex, be in love
and to have conflict — is a great
thing. We have a long way to go
but normalising our world and
how we live is so important.
We’ll usually finish on set at
6pm and when I get home, I’ll
have a shower to wash the day
away and decompress a bit. I’ll
have something light to eat and
watch a good box set.
I’ll go up to bed at around
8pm. Most of the time it’s head
on the pillow and I’m asleep
after a last run-through of my
lines. It may sound weird but
sometimes I subconsciously
learn lines in my sleep and end
up dreaming about my scenes n
Interview by Hannah Swerling.
Series two of Bridgerton is on
Netflix nowA LIFE IN THE DAY
Golda Rosheuvel
Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte, 52
58 • The Sunday Times Magazine*