Arsema Thomas, who portrays young Lady Danbury in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, details how original actor Adjoa Andoh helped her take on the role. Queen Charlotte premiered on Netflix on May 4 and serves as a prequel/spin-off of the hit Bridgerton series. It focuses on Queen Charlotte, following both her younger self (India Amarteifio) in 1761, when she first marries King George III (Corey Mylchreest), and her older self (Golda Rosheuvel) in 1817, as she searches for an heir. Andoh reprises her Bridgerton role as Lady Danbury, while Thomas was brought on to play the younger version.

In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Thomas shed some light on how Andoh helped her portray Lady Danbury in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Thomas revealed that Andoh helped raise her confidence in her ability to take on the role. Through long discussions, they noticed similarities in their lives and what they believed in, and realized these similarities could be "injected" into the character they played. Check out her statement below:

Adjoa was super helpful in putting the confidence in myself to be Lady Danbury. We had a long Zoom call and chatted mostly about our own lives and we plucked the fact that we both have similar foundations for this character. They both have this prioritization around the idea of justice, and that's what Agatha has built a lot of her life around, the difference between right and wrong. To see that reflected in Adjoa's bookshelf with the autobiography of Assata Shakur and a coffee book about art from by Black Panthers, all of these things were nonverbal cues to me that we both have the same ideas of society and that we both injected them into this character.

Who Is Lady Danbury In Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story?

Viscountess Violet Bridgerton and Lady Agatha Danbury in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

Lady Danbury's story in Queen Charlotte has garnered quite a bit of attention. This is because the prequel explored an entirely new side of her story, and it is quite a brutal one. The older Lady Danbury was first introduced in Bridgerton, and she is a force to be reckoned with. She stands out as a widowed doyenne who is confident, wise, and respected by even the men in society. While Bridgerton gave some idea of how she worked her way up to such a position, it wasn't clear just how difficult her journey was.

In Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury has quite a tragic story. She was betrothed to her adult husband at the age of three years old and suffered through a very unhappy marriage. While Queen Charlotte and King George's relationship blossoms despite being arranged, there is no such joy in Lady Danbury's marriage. Then, after she is widowed, she is threatened with the loss of her title and estate. Despite facing so much oppression, though, viewers do ultimately get to see the beginning of her transformation into Bridgerton's doyenne.

She fights to keep her legacy alive and retain her position. Additionally, she makes an unexpected choice when it comes to her love life. While she is an eligible widow with many pursuers, she ultimately opts to keep the freedom she gained when her husband passed. The way that she turns her back on conventions and shows interest in reclaiming her life demonstrates how she makes her way to the Bridgerton version of herself. Lady Danbury may seem different in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, but those similarities Thomas and Andoh spoke about subtly connect both versions of the character.

Source: Harper's Bazaar