Harry Potter star Katie Leung took on the layered role of Araminta Gunn (Formerly Li), who fulfills the evils stepmother trope of Sophie Baek’s (Yerin Ha) Cinderella-like love story with Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) in Season 4 of Bridgerton, based on Julia Quinn’s novel An Offer From a Gentleman.
Formerly married to Viscount Li, with whom she had two daughters — Michelle Mao’s Rosamund Li and Isabella Wei’s Posy Li — Araminta wasn’t always the bitter woman who makes Sophie do endless chores like polishing her many pairs of shoes or loading her with tasks that require more than just one housemaid. She didn’t realize she was entering a marriage that comes with a secret illegitimate daughter that the Earl of Penwood shared with a late housemaid.
“It’s definitely not hard for me to understand where she’s coming from, especially because the backstory was already there,” Leung told Deadline. “I didn’t really have to imagine it. We could play it out and see the result of it. And that’s a beautiful thing.”
Araminta inadvertently influences Sophie’s reconnection with Benedict (Luke Thompson) out in the countryside after Sophie’s stepmother sends her packing. Araminta deduces that Sophie went to Lady Violet Bridgerton’s Masquerade Ball because Benedict came calling asking if Posy wore silver to the ball.
“You do still see those glimpses of Araminta making that decision and discovering that there is the option that she probably hadn’t considered before,” Leung said of her character realizing another way she could dismiss Sophie from her life. “Because, in a way, she still, in very small amount, did care for Sophie, or felt like she was her responsibility.”
In the below interview, Leung teases what to expect regarding Araminta’s storyline in Part 2 and discusses specific scenes that helped her tackle the different layers of Araminta.
DEADLINE: Araminta is a major antagonist in this story, but I wanted to ask how you found her humanity and made her multi-dimensional as a character?
LEUNG: I guess the impact of her presence, even when she’s not around, is integral to why Benedict and Sophie are separated because she is powerful and dominating and all these things. To answer your question, it’s because she has this other side of her that is, deep down, she is going through a lot, and we get to see some of those moments when she was betrayed. Those traumatic events that really shape who you become. It’s a rare opportunity for an actor, really, to be able to go through that experience with their character. I was lucky enough to be able to do that with Araminta.
DEADLINE: I am thinking specifically of the scene where she meets Sophie for the first time, and you get out of the carriage, and you seem more joyful, and then you see that moment where you switch facial expressions. I wanted to ask about that scene, and also the funeral scene, when you tell her she is not in the will.
LEUNG: I just had so much fun with it. The flashback scene came a bit later on in the shoot, and so having really experienced what Araminta was going through in present day, it was really imperative and important for me to make sure that we saw that contrast just before she sees Sophie for the first time, or knows who Sophie is in a moment of betrayal. And that once upon a time, she was hopeful and full of joy and in love with this man who she had in her head that she was going to spend the rest of her life with, and it was going to be great. And then in that split second, you can see just her world come crashing down. So again, just really lucky to have been able to play that and for for us to see that moment.
Fast forward to the funeral. Yes, it was manipulative of our mentor to obviously lie about the will, but at the same time, I think she genuinely thought she was doing a good thing and offering Sophie this position as a maid. They’re at the funeral of of her late husband, who she absolutely adored. And I just remember the director giving me a really small note, like a note to work with, to play with, which is that ,she is genuinely upset. She’s very upset, but angry at the same time, because ultimately, he’s left this illegitimate daughter with Araminta. And Araminta is like, ‘I could just, like, throw her out. I don’t have to be kind. I don’t have to do anything. I’m just offering this thing.’ So I don’t think it comes from a bad place, but I want to mention the costume for the funeral scene was my favorite.
DEADLINE: Yes, that veil was gorgeous!
LEUNG: Right? Yep.
DEADLINE: I did want to ask about your costumes because the flashback is the only time we see her not wearing black because she’s in mourning. Could we possibly see her in other colors in Part 2?
LEUNG: I’m trying to think, I think we do see her in other colors, but perhaps not as bright, probably still in the darker tones.
DEADLINE: Another reason I see Araminta as a force that moves the story forward is she’s hiring all these maids out from under other households. I was curious your take on that, because obviously the other ladies of the Ton aren’t happy with her, but she’s helping the servant class by giving them raises.
LEUNG: Absolutely! Again, I think Araminta is very proud of the fact that she’s indirectly fighting for the working class, upping their wages and, yeah, that’s, that’s how she sees it. I mean, nobody speaks highly of it. Even the maids themselves, are having a good bitch about her. But, actually, they should be grateful.
DEADLINE: I’m curious how you wanted to go into the scene where you fire Sophie and you’ve recognized that she was the Lady in Silver at the ball.
LEUNG: I mean that was the big scene, for me anyway. I was quite anxious about doing that scene because I wanted to make sure that the firing of Sophie is justified. It was playing with the levels of manipulation and whether she was going to enter pretending that she doesn’t know, to see if Sophie’s going to confess or not. We did, like quite a few different versions of it to see what would work. But ultimately I think they went with a more direct version. It was a really challenging scene, but it was quite fulfilling. And to be able to have a scene like that with Yerin, I had had a lot of fun doing that, yeah.
DEADLINE: Part 1 ends with Araminta, Rosamund and Posy moving in next door to the Bridgertons. So I’m hoping we will see a confrontation that’s in the book. But what do you hope fans go into Part 2 knowing with that information?
DEADLINE: That’s such a great, I mean they just know how to end us on a really good cliffhanger. I mean, she’s barely in Episode 4, but then it’s like, ‘Boom!’ So I what should I tease for Part 2? I guess more drama, more gossip, more bitching and more Varley. Varley is going to be a big help in in this cat and mouse chase.
