Charithra Chandran has opened up about the difficulties of soaring to overnight fame on Bridgerton and spoke about how she stays ‘sane’ amid the attention.
The actress, 26, quickly became a household name after starring as Edwina Sharma in the second series of the smash hit Netflix period drama, which aired last year.
Now, she has spoken about how she coped with the overnight fame that came with the show, admitting she felt ‘vulnerable’ in a candid chat with Cosmopolitan UK.
Appearing as the magazine’s June/July cover star, Charithra said she was told by her Bridgerton co-stars to get a therapist to help her deal with the ‘crazy’ attention.
She said: ‘I think when anyone is first exposed to this [fame] on the level that I was, they read the comments, they google themselves.
Fame: Charithra Chandran has opened up about the difficulties of soaring to overnight fame on Bridgerton and spoke about how she stays ‘sane’ amid the attention
‘And when you read the really aggressive ones – I know this sounds dramatic – but you feel really vulnerable.’
Charithra admitted she felt scared at the thought of a ‘deranged’ fan ‘hunting her down’ for a few months before she adjusted to her new life in the public eye.
She said her everyday life now feels very ‘normal’ and admitted the one thing that keeps her sane is not having any close friends her own age in the industry.
Charithra told how she has instead befriended her co-stars Golda Rosheuvel, 53, and Shelley Conn, 46, who starred as her mother on the show.
She said: ‘My life just feels so… normal? I think it comes from not having close friends my age in the industry, that is the number one thing that has left me feeling sane.’
Charithra said she spends a lot of time with Golda, who plays Queen Charlotte, and the pair often go to shows or have dinner together.
She also told how both Golda and Shelley have given her advice about how to ‘hold’ herself in the industry and gushed that she relies on their words of wisdom.
Looking to the future, Charithra said she wants to take on roles that start important conversations, but admitted she doesn’t want to only portray characters where the storyline is all about their Indian heritage.
Adjustment: Appearing as Cosmopolitan’s June/July cover star, Charithra said she was told by her Bridgerton co-stars to get a therapist to help her deal with the ‘crazy’ attention
Success: The actress, 26, quickly became a household name after starring as Edwina Sharma in the second series of the smash hit Netflix period drama, which aired last year
Struggles: She candidly spoke about how she coped with the overnight fame that came with Bridgerton, admitting she felt ‘vulnerable’ at one point
Friends: She said her life now feels very ‘normal’ and said the one thing that keeps her sane is not having close friends her own age in the industry
Mentors: Charithra told how she has instead befriended her co-stars Golda Rosheuvel (pictured as Queen Charlotte), 53, and Shelley Conn, 46, who starred as her mother
She told how she has rejected roles before for enforcing ‘bad or lazy’ stereotypes about Indian culture as she spoke about what is important to her in her career.
She said: ‘I love representing my culture and I love playing characters that are culturally specific to me, but on the flip side, I also enjoy playing a normal person where the story isn’t just about her being Indian.
‘That is what I want for my career as well: I want to do things about race that start important conversations, and things about love and friendship: I don’t want to be a one trick pony.
‘The times that I’ve said no [to a role] is if it perpetuates bad or lazy stereotypes, if it’s a character I’ve already seen before.’
Charithra has previously spoken about how she put pressure on herself on the set of Bridgerton because she feared ‘messing things up for future Indian actors’.
She told how ‘there are so few opportunities available when you are brown’ and said she went through ‘an extreme thought process’ while filming her breakthrough part.
She told Grazia of her character: ‘Her life circumstance is one that, as an Indian, I can say many Indian women also face – which is being brought up to be the perfect daughter, mother, wife, sister.
Career: Charithra said she wants to take on acting roles that start conversations, but said she doesn’t want to only portray characters where the storyline is all about their Indian heritage
Stereotypes: She told how she has rejected roles before for enforcing ‘bad or lazy’ stereotypes about Indian culture as she spoke about what is important to her in her career
Praised: Bridgerton has been lauded for its representation and its introduction of the Sharma family, with the sisters played by Charithra and Sex Education star Simone Ashley
‘All of those things are, of course, so important, family is always number one. But, often, that means there’s very little room for the self, for one’s own desires.
‘When you are brown, there are so few opportunities available – that’s changing rapidly – but I was stressed that if I didn’t do a good job… what if I messed it up for future Indian actors?’
Bridgerton has been lauded for its representation and its introduction of the Sharma family, with the sisters played by Charithra and Sex Education star Simone Ashley.
The full Charithra Chandran interview can be read in the June/July issue of Cosmopolitan UK, on sale from 30th May.
