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What Sonia Chew Learned From Her Unexpected Bridgerton Audition
Gossip fuels the drama in Netflix’s Bridgerton, where secrets rarely stay hidden for long. Now, in a twist that feels almost lifted from the series itself, one of Singapore’s most recognisable media personalities has revealed a secret of her own.
On March 9, Singaporean radio DJ and host Sonia Chew shared on Instagram that she had auditioned for the lead role of Sophie in season four of Bridgerton. The part eventually went to Korean Australian actress Yerin Ha.
A Secret Audition in the Middle of a Holiday
Chew, 34, revealed that she was on holiday in New York City with her partner when her manager told her about the audition. Based on screenshots of their text exchange, the process was described as “highly confidential”, with her manager suspecting it was for Bridgerton “based on the timeline”.
Speaking to us via WhatsApp, Chew said everything happened so quickly that she barely had time to process her feelings. “But, I’m never one to say no to a challenge, even though at the back of my mind I’m like, I’m on a holiday, and I don’t want to stress about this,” she said.
The experience was even more nerve-racking because acting is not her day job. “That stressed me out even more,” she admitted, explaining that screen tests like these “aren’t second nature to me”. In the Instagram video, Chew said she kept wondering why she had even been put up for the audition in the first place.
(PHOTO: Sonia Chew)
“I am not an actress; I have not had any formal acting training. I’ve dabbled in a couple of comedies here in Singapore. My actual job is a radio presenter, a host and a media personality,” she said.
The Bridgerton audition ended up cutting into her holiday plans, too. Chew shared that she had to carve out time in the middle of the trip to get everything done, with her partner stepping in to help. At one point, they were even late for a dinner reservation because the two of them were racing against the setting sun to capture the right lighting.
“When you’re on a holiday, the last thing you want to do is to be stuck in a hotel room, right? But we were losing natural light. The lighting is bad when there’s no sunlight. So he said, ‘You know what? Let’s just stay in, get this out of the way, and we can go for dinner,” she said, adding that she felt “blessed” to have such an understanding partner.
Why the RP Accent Became the Biggest Hurdle
For the audition, Chew had to submit headshots, record a self-introduction in her regular accent, and then do another in RP, or Received Pronunciation. That was where things got especially tricky. The accent requirement threw her off almost immediately, especially since she had barely any time to prepare and did not feel comfortable with it to begin with.
“I thought ‘RP’ meant Royal Palace at that time,” she said. To get through it, Chew turned to YouTube, listening to videos teaching the fastest way to pick up an RP accent for the Bridgerton audition.
“I was listening to it in the shower. I would listen to it just before I read the lines. Then, before I do the next part, I would listen to it again just so that I have it in my mind,” she said. Even then, she knew it was going to be an uphill climb.
“The problem with accents, and even with language, if you don’t speak it day in and day out, you’re never going to be able to capture that in such a short period of time. For what it’s worth, I think I tried my best. I really did.”
She added that mimicking scenes from a show for fun is one thing, but performing them properly under pressure is something else entirely.
“Sometimes we watch shows, and we joke around, or we try to recreate certain scenes from Bridgerton, and it’s just all laughs, but when you actually consciously try to read lines and do it, it’s a different ball game altogether. I was not confident I would even get through the first round, which was the self-intro in a British accent.”
From Self-Doubt to Self-Discovery
Like many viewers, Chew also had a moment of wondering what starring in Bridgerton might actually involve. Her mind went to the show’s well-known intimate scenes and whether things like her tattoos might become an issue. At the same time, she admitted she was hardly thinking that far ahead, given how unconvinced she was that she would make it through.
Still, she joked that perhaps it was for the best she did not land the part, because otherwise she might have had to buy her parents a brand new television.
“Now, looking at the episodes, I think they might have had a very, very good intimacy coordinator… I think I would have risen to the challenge, but I might have had to go over to break my parents’ TV so that they don’t watch it,” she shared. Even though she did not make it through the audition process, Chew said the experience stayed with her for reasons beyond acting.
“This experience has taught me that you can be pleasantly surprised if you just try. Even though I didn’t get it, that’s fine,” she shared. “I feel like I’ve grown in terms of mindset. I realised how the video I posted actually impacted people on a different level, not when it comes to the craft of acting or failing to get the role, but the idea that sometimes it’s good to laugh at yourself.”
More Than Just a Brush With Bridgerton
What could have remained a private what-if has now become something much more public and perhaps more meaningful. For Chew, the failed audition was not just a brush with one of Netflix’s biggest shows. It was also a reminder that sometimes, saying yes to something daunting can leave a mark even if it leads nowhere.
All episodes of Season 4 of Bridgerton are available on Netflix.
