Everyone who’s watched Bridgerton Season 2 knows that Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) isn’t a people pleaser. In fact, it’s one of the things Ashley loves most about her character. Kate relocates with her sister, Edwina (Charithra Chandran), and their mother, Lady Mary (Shelley Conn), to Regency England, just in time to participate in the season’s marriage market. Kate and Mary have high hopes of finding Edwina a suitable husband and securing their family’s future, but Kate refuses to be pinned in by the rules that define the Regency-era social season.
She embarks on unchaperoned early morning horseback rides and is ambivalent about being labeled a spinster at 26. She’s sharp, demanding and capable, acting as a buffer between her sister — whom Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) has crowned the season’s diamond — and the suitors who might court Edwina for the wrong reasons. “When I had the material of Kate put in front of me, I could definitely see that this was a complicated character that maybe some people wouldn’t fully understand until you get to know her,” Ashley tells Tudum. “I think that’s what I loved about Kate. You had to earn her trust to truly get to know her heart, the person she is and her story.”
When Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) sets his sights on Edwina, Kate is less than pleased, especially after overhearing him sneer at the concept of love and the “quality” of eligible debutantes on the marriage market. During their first meeting, Kate verbally snatches Anthony from his high horse, questioning his character and intelligence in a biting retort. “I take issue with any man who views women merely as chattels and breeding stock,” she quips.
Still, as Anthony pursues Edwina and Kate begins to see more of his true character, she finds herself drawn toward him. Determined not to hurt Edwina or bring shame to her family, Kate refuses to acknowledge her burgeoning connection to Anthony. But their chemistry is enthralling. Under a lush gazebo on a warm summer night, Kate finally tells Anthony, “It has been you this entire time, spinning my world off its axis, making me reconsider everything I have ever told myself. I came here resolved to save my family; everything I have ever done has been for them.”
Following the Season 2 premiere, Tudum spoke with Ashley about Kate’s choices, her journey and why it’s always important for women to put themselves first.
So much of Kate’s life has been about denying what she wants to secure Edwina’s position in society. In your opinion, why is it so important for women to put themselves first? A true leader knows how to love themselves, put themselves first and set an example for the people surrounding them to do the same. That was something Kate learned and had to surrender to. When we first meet her, she’s incredibly reserved. She’s running away from the trauma she experienced in her childhood, putting Edwina and her mom first and protecting them. She doesn’t want to look inside and confront her own journey, but we see that change when she meets Anthony and is forced to spend time with him. She has to let her guard down.
Kate’s a self-realized woman, and she’s not performative. She’s incredibly powerful in that sense. I really love that about her. She isn’t a people pleaser, but her journey is understanding her own heart and needs. It takes bravery to listen to your own heart and put that first — not to please other people but to love herself. There was definitely a journey of a character from being the elder sibling in this protective role with a lot of pressure on her shoulders to being her own guardian and taking care of herself.
Bridgerton Season 2 has a long, magnificent slow burn that leads into Episode 7. Did you prefer the cadence of this love story, or would you have preferred Anthony and Kate’s love story to move along a bit faster? I love a slow burn. I love when things in life are earned. That’s something we definitely experience with Kate and Anthony. These are two complex characters with very complicated histories and a lot of entanglement with their duties within their families. They don’t have a second to think about what they want for themselves and put their relationship with each other first. What’s amazing about Kate and Anthony is they’ve never met anyone like each other in a similar position. Every time they’re on their own, they can forget about everything else they’re meant to be doing — all the things they should be attending to for their families — and can just be with one another. It just goes deeper and deeper. The fireworks toward the end of the series [are] incredibly earned. If anything, it just tastes that much sweeter. I’m excited to keep exploring that fire in Season 3 now that Kate and Anthony are married.
Episode 7 opens with Kate dreaming about Anthony. At that point, do you think she felt her attraction to the viscount was something she could continue to ignore? At this point in the series, we definitely see Kate’s heart is much louder and stronger than her head was when we meet her at the start of the series. She adores Anthony, she loves him and she wants him, but the main thing stopping her is her love for her sister. Edwina has this incredible pivot where she finds her voice and independence, and it’s up to Kate to really understand that change and accept that she’s on her own journey without protecting her sister and her mom.
It’s something Anthony dares her to do. He says, “What if we do something for ourselves?” It’s incredibly scary for Kate to leap and do that; it’s an incredibly vulnerable position to be in. So we see that push-and-pull dynamic throughout the whole series. It was just wonderful to see Kate really leap into that since, from the get-go, she’s been entranced by him, can't stop thinking about him and catching eyes with him across the room. He gets to her and gets in her head, and she can’t forget about that.
There’s so much longing between Kate and Anthony throughout the season. Can you talk about the moment Kate finally decides to give in to her desires? I’m a modern-day woman. It shouldn’t be a taboo thing anymore [for] women of color [to know] what they want — and women, in general, [to know] what they want. I’ve known what I wanted for the majority of my life. It was like, “Of course, this has to happen.” It was stating the obvious that women want sex and want pleasure. They know what they want and that they can put that first. It was such a breath of fresh air to bring that to the scene and to [the] screen.
At the end of Season 2, we see Kate and Anthony six months into their marriage. Since you and Jonathan are slated to appear in Season 3, will we see more of their dynamic as a couple? Anthony continues to be the head of the household, and Kate’s filling in the shoes as the viscountess. I would love to see Kate continue on that journey of becoming even braver, listening to her instincts and believing that she can fulfill this role and deserve a family. [Kate] does deserve community and a sense of belonging. When we meet her in Season 2, she feels very comfortable with a sense of isolation. I love to see that she’s breaking free from that and becoming a part of this family. I want to see Kate and Anthony continue to grow and learn [from] each other, bring out the best in one another and challenge each other. That’s a dynamic that has been truly so powerful within their chemistry and how they challenge each other and put each other in their place. So I hope that that narrative continues. It’s a big moment for Kate to spread her wings.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
