Why Arsema Thomas Wanted To Play Young Lady Danbury In Queen Charlotte

Arsema Thomas plays a young Lady Agatha Danbury in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

Why did the actress want to be in the Bridgerton spinoff?

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story features the younger versions of several Bridgerton characters, including Arsema Thomas as a young Lady Agatha Danbury. A prequel spinoff of the popular Netflix period show Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte takes place across two timelines and follows the eponymous queen, played by both Golda Rosheuvel (as seen in Bridgerton) and India Amarteifio as the royal 50 years younger. Among the other characters in the Queen Charlotte cast is Lady Agatha Danbury, played by Adjoa Andoh (reprising her Bridgerton role) and Arsema Thomas.

In Bridgerton, Lady Danbury is fierce, wise, and respected doyenne of London society. She is responsible for many of the relationship match-ups in the series and is a source of advice for Violet Bridgerton. In Queen Charlotte, Arsema Thomas’ young Lady Danbury is a much less confident character who is only beginning to figure out her role in London society and has not yet learned to overcome her fears by making herself fearsome. Younger or older, Lady Danbury is a fascinating character, but she’s not what attracted Thomas to Queen Charlotte in the first place.

Arsema Thomas Wanted To Be In Queen Charlotte Because Of Shonda Rhimes

As well-developed as Lady Danbury is in both Queen Charlotte and Bridgerton, Arsema Thomas was mainly interested in joining the series because of her admiration for series creator Shonda Rhimes. In an interview with W Magazine, Thomas spoke about her feelings on Rhimes:

“What [Shonda] does for the Black woman narrative is something I never had the chance to explore. A lot of the characters I was playing weren’t written for me, or I was fighting with directors on visions and choices. To be able to be in something where I trusted the writer, I knew it would be just an amazing place to keep learning.”

Rhimes has put the Black female experience to the forefront in her shows with some of Shondaland’s best characters, including Annalize Keating (Viola Davis) in How To Get Away With Murder and Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) in Scandal. Thomas’ confidence in Rhimes and her characters made her audition without knowing anything about Lady Danbury or even the Bridgerton universe.

In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Arsema Thomas discussed how when she auditioned for the role, her only notes were that her character was in the Bridgerton universe. It wasn’t until the producers asked Thomas back for a chemistry read that she knew her Queen Charlotte character’s identity. At that point, she binge-watched the entire Bridgerton series and learned who Lady Danbury was. Fortunately, Thomas knew right away, “I wouldn’t want to play anyone else but her.” Lady Danbury’s ability to command a room was an immediate draw for Thomas who has always looked up to that type of woman.

Arsema Thomas Pretended To Be British For Her Queen Charlotte Audition

It may come as a surprise that Arsema Thomas is not British. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, the actress faked her accent to the point that even producers were unsure of her nationality (via Buzzfeed). Thomas points to her undergraduate years as the time when she honed her British accent. While this ended up being a boon for Thomas, it also points to a way she and Lady Danbury are similar. In their younger years, they both had trouble letting their true selves out. Lady Danbury stayed in a loveless marriage and Thomas faced impostor syndrome when she took on the role of young Lady Danbury.

But just like Lady Danbury, Arsema Thomas quickly grew into a confident woman who learned to trust her own talent and instincts. In fact, it was even the original Lady Danbury actor who gave Thomas advice on how to step into the role. Andoh helped raise Thomas’ confidence in a career that she was new to, after spending her early twenties studying for the public health field. In Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury and Arsema Thomas came fresh into a world they didn’t initially believe they belonged in, but by using the support of those in similar situations (Andoh and Queen Charlotte), they gained confidence in their roles.