“We’re in the midst of filming and I’m a tad tired, but it’s all good,” Australian actor Yerin Ha remarks with a wide smile. Currently in London shooting the new season of Bridgerton, of which she is the lead, Ha will next star in Netflix’s new local drama series The Survivors, a thrilling six-part whodunnit based on the bestselling novel by Jane Harper.
Shot in Tasmania, the series follows Kieran (played by The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power star Charlie Vickers), who returns to his home town with his partner, Mia (Ha), and their baby. Still grappling with an accident that saw three people lose their lives 15 years ago, the tight-knit community is turned upside down again when the body of a woman washes up on a beach. And so, the search for a killer unfolds. “I hadn’t done an Australian project in a while and it’s important for me to tap back into my home soil,” Ha says. “There are dual plotlines of uncovering the deaths of three people 15 years ago and then the death of Bronte, who’s murdered in the present.”
The series deftly explores the big impact of unresolved grief, something Ha herself has experienced. Losing a friend in high school and then her beloved grandfather two years ago, the 27-year-old says she prefers to let her feelings be felt, rather than trying to compartmentalise them or put on a brave face. “Grief is a funny thing — there’s no right or wrong way to go about it. When my grandpa passed away, I felt that I had to be strong for my mum and I couldn’t properly let myself break down in front of her because I could see how fragile she was,” she explains. “It’s interesting the roles we put ourselves into depending on the people we surround ourselves with. I definitely think you need to feel the feels, and not have a timeline of when it will be resolved. It never will. It’s a fracture, but with time, you learn how to manage day to day.”
This openness has propelled Ha into big screen roles. Growing up in Sydney and now living in London, her star gained traction rather quickly in Steven Spielberg’s TV series Halo and HBO’s Dune: Prophecy series. Next up, it’s season four of Bridgerton, a series so massive, its previous season hit 45.1 million views across its first weekend on Netflix. “Filming is going so wonderfully! It’s just such a gift,” Ha says. “Opportunities like this don’t come around very often and it’s been tiring and hard but … I’ll sob when it’s over. Everyone has supported each other in the best way they can.”
Ha — who is the granddaughter of Korean actor Son Sook — was in a cafe with her mum in Korea when she got the call to say she’d landed the coveted role of Bridgerton’s Sophie, love interest to Benedict (played by English actor Luke Thompson). “I was literally screaming on the streets,” she recalls. “Mum was crying, I was crying — I won’t forget it.”
Preparation started with Ha reading the book and “unpicking” author Julia Quinn’s brain on how she envisioned Sophie to be: sassy, vulnerable, independent. Then, it was about establishing chemistry with Thompson. “Sometimes I’ll have an idea of how I will play a scene, and then he’ll give me something completely different. So it’s about moulding and adapting, and finding Sophie through different characters within the Bridgerton world.”
Between takes, Ha says her co-stars talk about interactions they have had with fans on the street, something she still can’t fathom will undoubtedly become her reality. “I’m in a delulu land in my own mind,” she quips. “I don’t really think about that kind of stuff. I’m like, Let’s just finish the shoot and I’ll believe it when I see it kind of vibe.”
While Ha may be in denial about how much her star is about to rise, she’ll forever have her grandmother’s advice to lean into: that acting is as much a people job as it is a skill. “[She taught me] that in order to have longevity in your career, it’s about how you treat others,” she says. “Through her, I learnt [about] walking into a space with kindness and openness. You walk onto set and there’s, like, 100 crew and I think it’s important to know people’s names and say hello. It’s the little things that add up.”
The Survivors is streaming now on Netflix. Watch the trailer here.
