Filipino 'lords' join 'Bridgerton' season 3
MANILA, Philippines — The thought of Filipino nobles in Regency London is far-fetched, but in Shondaland's color-blind "Bridgerton," there are two, with one of them bearing a Filipino name, that were introduced on its latest season now streaming on Netflix.
Filipino actors James Bradwell and Martin Sarreal shared their experiences being cast on the popular period costume show.
British-Filipino Bradwell said he had a "gorgeous time playing my small part" as part of the Ton, which refers to the British aristocracy in Regency London.
Bradwell revealed how his suggestion of christening his character with a Filipino name was met with enthusiasm from the show's producers.
"When first offered the role under a different name of East Asian heritage, I wondered whether there was an opportunity to rechristen my Lord with a name representative of my own heritage.
"Feeling emboldened to reach out to production, I was met with an enthusiastic response welcoming and encouraging my input. I suggested a number of Filipino surnames and Basilio was born! (Maybe Basilio of Bicol? The Viscount of Visayas? The Lord of Longganisa?)
"Most importantly to me in this exchange was that I was made to feel like a collaborator on my role, not a beggar at the door as these conversations can sometimes feel in this industry," he said on Instagram, thanking Shonda and the show for "dignifying" his heritage as an actor.
Bradwell appeared as Shota Akizuki and the puppetry captain in the stage adaptation of Makoto Shinkai's "The Garden of Words" and did the voice and motion capture on the video game "Baldur's Gate III."
Sarreal also had fun on the set of the popular Netflix show, currently the no. 1 streamed show on Netflix Philippines as of this writing since its release last May 16.
"Had loads of fun stepping into Lord Barnell’s shoes (and sticking on those sideburns) on a wonderful job jam packed with fantastic people," Sarreal wrote on Instagram.
"There are now officially TWO Pinoys in the 'Bridgerton' universe. What more can you truly ask for?" he added, tagging Bradwell in his post.
"Bridgerton" released the first four episodes of the first part of its third season, which focuses on the romance between Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). Part 2 will drop on June 13.
Shondaland and Netflix adapted the show from the books written by Julia Quinn.
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