Ever since Bridgerton Season 4 came out recently, fans of romance have yet again been drawn into the show’s world, sighing at dreamy moments in this Cinderella story and wanting to scream at their screens as the secrets and miscommunication build. Amid all the online buzz around the show and part 2 set to drop next week, you’ve probably seen headstrong and marriage-averse Bridgerton sister Eloise’s exaggerated reaction to a suitor’s advances becoming a meme. The suitor in question, however, is someone Indian audiences have swooned over in Meera Nair’s A Suitable Boy – Mikhail Sen.
Although a short and simple role, Sen is clearly fond of Lord Tuss. “He is quite a flirtatious, charming suitor who takes a shine to Eloise and is straightforward about it. I think perhaps too forward? The internet clearly thinks it was far too forward, with the reaction becoming a meme,” he laughs. Comparing the two period dramas, he shares that Bridgerton ‘was a world I never really saw myself in.’
While English period dramas have long been cast with Caucasian actors, the show made waves with a diverse cast since season 1 (2020). Asked if things have changed for actors of colour since Bridgerton’s explosive popularity, he responds, “When I watch season 1 of Bridgerton, or when I see other people of colour doing brilliantly in roles that are not generic, it fills me with a lot of joy, because it does show that we as a community are getting opportunities to play leading roles. Things have definitely changed. The project I’ve been working on in the last four months is an example of that, but I don’t think it’s changing fast enough.”
The UK-based actor’s involvement in Bridgerton was a quick affair, taking about a month from audition to filming in late 2024.
Although his presence on the sets was brief, the actor’s favourite part of being in the mega production was the cast, particularly getting to work with fan-favourite Adjoa Andoh, who plays Lady Danbury for the second time. He says, “Claudia (Jessie) is really wonderful to work with, so is Luke Thompson and especially Adjoa Andoh, who plays Lady Danbury because I worked with her on my first project here – Troilus and Cressida with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2018.” He adds, “It’s quite weird when you go in for only a couple of days to these big sets where everyone knows each other and worked with each other for so many years. It’s lovely, but it’s like the first day of school – you kind of just want to fit in and get on with everyone.”
Sen got his start in Bengaluru’s theatre scene, growing up in a home of theatre actors. “I’m a product of theatre, but, for me, acting for the screen and the stage are very different skill sets. But fundamentally, you just have to be believable in any given circumstances. If you’re not truthful on stage, then you’re definitely not going to be on camera and vice versa,” he concludes.
Just last year, after winning Eastern Eye’s Best Actor – Theatre Award at the ACTAs for his performance in The Merchant of Venice and taking his first short film, Code Switch, across the festival circuit, he’s currently working on a story set in Bengaluru.