From Bridgerton To One Piece, Charithra Chandran Is Moving Between Worlds
Since Bridgerton Season 2 arrived on Netflix in 2022, Charithra Chandran, who played Edwina Sharma, seems to have been everywhere – front row at fashion shows, billboards, Instagram feeds, magazine covers, and, quite famously, sitting behind Andrew Garfield and Monica Barbaro at the Royal Box at Wimbledon.
Even though it’s been a few years since she was a part of the Regency romance drama, she is still stopped on the streets and recognised for her breakout role. But when she casually walks into the Park Hyatt London River Thames Hotel alone – no entourage in sight, I get the feeling that she is not quite aware that she is famous.
Dressed in Jimmy Choos (“I could run a marathon in these heels”), a vintage Miu Miu pencil skirt and a black turtleneck jumper from COS, she looks effortlessly elegant – but there are no movie star airs about her. In a few seconds, I feel like I’m chatting with a friend.
Acting opposite Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley, Chandran is one of the breakout stars of Bridgerton, but since then, she’s moved on from one of Netflix’s biggest shows to other worlds that might just be even bigger, if possible, than Bridgerton. Releasing earlier this year, Chandran is visibly excited about her starring role in Season 2 of Netflix’s fantasy adventure One Piece – a live-action adaptation of the best-selling manga series of the same name by Eiichiro Oda.
“It’s all I want to do all the time”
Chandran grew up watching Tamil, Bollywood and Disney films – “I was that kid who would put on shows at home and was always learning dance routines.” She references one of her favourite films, Sister Act 2, where Whoopi Goldberg’s character says, If you wake up in the morning and the first thing you want to do is sing, then you’re a singer. “I think that’s how I really feel about performing. It’s all I want to do all the time,” she says. Her first role was in a nativity play. “I was the kid who wanted the most lines, and I wanted to be the star of the show, but it wasn’t very colourblind casting, so I was told I couldn’t be Mary or Gabriel.” She was given the role of Innkeeper One, which ended up having the most lines, and it’s her earliest memory of acting.
Chandran’s path to acting was not exactly linear. She studied at Oxford University and landed a job offer from BCG (Boston Consulting Group), famously one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the world, and what would have been the most obvious follow-up to a degree from Oxford. But the universe had other plans.
Chandran’s path to acting was not exactly linear. She studied at Oxford University and landed a job offer from BCG… but the universe had other plans.
She made her on-screen debut in the second season of Amazon Studios’ Alex Rider, based on the fourth novel in the Eagle Strike series by Anthony Horowitz (clearly, book-to-screen adaptations and starring in season 2 seems to be a trend here…), and she ended up postponing her start date at BCG for a year. “It’s a much easier thing to do, right? You’re like, okay, I’m just giving myself a year.” The year stretched. Then Bridgerton happened. “I really thought, up until last year, that I would join BCG eventually. But now I don’t think so.”
The diamond of the season
During her audition for Bridgerton, Chandran originally read for the role of Kate Sharma before being told she looked too young. Later, she was asked to audition for Edwina — and then heard nothing for months. “I just thought, okay, it’s sad, but fine.” Until suddenly, she got the call (“They want you. There’s no one else.”) Her first meeting with Jonathan Bailey happened at a dance rehearsal, behind visors, because it was during COVID, so there were extra-tight safety measures. “You never know what it’s going to be like joining a big show, but I remember Ruth, who plays Lady Bridgerton, looking at Simone (Ashley) and me on our first day and going, ‘God, it just feels like you’ve always been here.’ And just like that, it put me at such ease, and I remember thinking this is such a nice group of people.”
I am eager to know if there’s a Bridgerton alumni group chat, but Chandran says there isn’t. “We admire each other from afar, and then when we see each other in person at events, it’s all love.” Talking about Bailey, aka People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2025, she says it was always about when, not if, for him – “The man is a star, but he’s so humble. He’s exactly the same guy he was four years ago (‘golden retriever energy’). Every time I see him, I’m like, ‘how has this not affected you?’ He’s just the best.”
People will come up to me most days and ask for a picture or say hi. And every time it surprises me.
Despite the couture gowns and surreal scale of the production, Chandran describes the feeling of actually shooting the show as a bit of a blur. “It happened so quickly. I think I blacked out for most of it. I still don’t know how big the show is.”
Chandran’s family is also instrumental in keeping her grounded. “My parents were always confident I would succeed no matter what I did. They are incredibly down-to-earth and don’t care much about all of this (fame) stuff. It’s just not a big deal for them.”
“I don’t think of myself as famous or successful or anything. People will come up to me most days and ask for a picture or say hi. And every time it surprises me,” she says. I’m surprised to know that for Chandran, there was no real distinction between life before and after Bridgerton. “I don’t think my life has changed so much, in terms of the things that mattered to me most and the things which are most valuable to me. My relationship with my family is exactly the same, and I don’t have many friends in the industry intentionally – they’re all from school and university. Life feels very normal. I’m still a jobbing actor.” A regular day in the life of Charithra Chandran sounds like any other London girl in her 20s. “On my days off, I work out, go for a run or a workout class, hang out with my friends. I love going to the movies or walking around the city by myself.” She lives with two of her closest friends in what she describes as a very social house – there are always people over, and I love hosting dinner parties.” (Dish of choice? Mushroom biryani).
Using her voice
Chandran doesn’t shy away from conversations about stereotypes and inequality in the industry. “I do not have the same opportunities as a white person in my position. I couldn’t imagine anyone disagreeing. If you’re a person of colour in the media, we live in a world still upheld by white supremacy,” she says. Chandran is fiercely proud of her South Asian identity, and it’s important to her to be a part of shows which accurately represent her culture. “I think especially now, when it feels like there’s a massive rise in South Asian hate, I think it’s important for people in the public eye to double down on their pride.”
If you’re a person of colour in the media, we live in a world still upheld by white supremacy.
I bring up Nikhil & Jay, a BBC animated series that follows two young British-Indian brothers navigating their dual heritage, with Chandran voicing the character of Amma. “What a gorgeous and wonderful thing for the BBC to invest in,” Chandran says. “It’s objectively a great show for children, but also, what I appreciate is the specificity in its culture – it’s not just pan Indian, they’re from Chennai, and it’s very, very specific to being Tamil. I wish I had this as a kid, and I can’t wait to show it to my future children.”
Chandran has also been vocal about her support for Palestine over the past few years, and, in fact, the first time I saw her was on stage at the OVO Arena Wembley, where she was one of the speakers at the Together for Palestine benefit concert held last year. “Nothing is worth sacrificing your voice or your morals,” she says. “Sure, there have been consequences to my career; I’ve already felt them. But it would feel much heavier on my heart if I didn’t speak out.”
Nothing is worth sacrificing your voice or your morals.
An actor prepares
Chandran is an Oxford graduate; her parents are doctors – I am not surprised to find out her preparation involves plenty of research. “I’m a very heady as opposed to a gut person. I’m always like, let’s overprepare.” She explains that when getting ready for a role, she tries to connect a personal experience she’s had with what the character is going through and then creates a path. “I’m not going to say which one, but I’ve played a character where I actually made myself ill afterwards because of what she experiences, and I felt it so profoundly in my body.”
The next big thing
If Bridgerton introduced her to a global audience, One Piece will test her understanding of scale entirely. “It’s bigger than Bridgerton,” she says. “I don’t think I’ll ever fully grasp how important it is to people.” She’s also stepping into unscripted television with an ambitious project she’s developing with Naked TV – based on the Kama Sutra, the show talks about pleasure and sex from an ancient Indian perspective.
I don’t think I’ll ever fully grasp how important One Piece is to people.
So does the actor have a five-year plan? Is there a big goal she’s working towards? “Right now, I just feel really grateful to have work. I feel grateful to be able to be an actor full-time. I want to feel like I give a good performance, whether it’s for a small role in something local or in a big franchise. I want to be able to be the best actor I can be.”
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