Shondaland VV: What attracted you to the role of Brimsley?
HUGH SACHS: I mean, there wasn’t much on the page. I give the queen a piece of gossip in the second episode, and then most of it was just variations of “Yes, your majesty.” But I wanted to work with Golda, and I wanted to be in something that was going to change television.
HUGH SACHS: One of the things I’ve loved about being in these shows is how they keep challenging the industry. I was really hoping season two would be as successful as it was because, as a gay man, having a leading actor [Jonathan Bailey] who was openly gay playing a straight romantic lead and it not being an issue was amazing to see. I knew it could change our industry — all those young actors who I know have been told to keep quiet can now point at Jonny and go, “Nope, it doesn’t harm your career.” Season one changed the racial politics of costume drama; season two changed sexual politics in our industry. It is moving the conversation.
​
Shondaland VV: And now in Queen Charlotte, we find out so much more about who Brimsley is and how his own sexual politics play out in this world.
HUGH SACHS: What’s so funny is, as an actor, you do a backstory with your character. So, all that standing about in season one and two, I was thinking, “Okay, so this is his family, and this is where he’s from, etcetera.” And then Shonda comes up with something far more interesting! People keep asking what happened to Brimsley and Reynolds, and I just go, “I’m saying nothing because whatever I come up with would be nothing compared to if Shonda ever approached that question!”
​
Shondaland VV: Can you tell us about getting the role of Brimsley?
HUGH SACHS: I went in for two roles: the Duke of Hastings’ servant and Brimsley. I read a couple of lines, and then I completely forgot about it. Because we don’t do romantic fiction; we do Austen or Dickens. Then they rang and said that they’d like me to play Brimsley. I asked who Charlotte was going to be played by, and they told me Golda, and that was the first I knew of its intentions to be inclusive. I got the six episodes, and I thought, “I’ll read two today and do the other four tomorrow.” I read all six in one sitting. I just thought, “They know how to keep you hooked; they really know what they’re doing.”
​
Shondaland VV: When did you know that Brimsley was going to be young Brimsley?
HUGH SACHS: Tom Verica [the director] sent me an email saying he was so pleased that I was going to be in Queen Charlotte, but I knew nothing about it at that point. They wanted a picture of me in my 20s, which I hated having my photo taken, so I rummaged through and found my drama school graduate picture. They sent me the picture of Sam Clemmett, and I was massively flattered. But I wasn’t sure if Sam was! [Laughs.]
​
​
Shondaland VV: What were your conversations like with Tom and with Shonda about bringing Brimsley to life in Queen Charlotte?
HUGH SACHS: Tom [the director] always liked Brimsley, I think. When we were doing Bridgerton, he’d say to me, “I just want to know more about him.” I don’t know what I was doing that made Brimsley so fascinating [laughs]. Like I’ve said, when I first signed on, I didn’t realize that young Brimsley was going to be such a big part of Queen Charlotte. But when I got those scripts, I read them like they were crack cocaine because I was finally finding out about who I was. I make this rather facile joke that I thought I’d been giving peak Idris Elba heterosexual butchness for two seasons, so I don’t know where Shonda got the idea that Brimsley was gay, and that always makes people laugh really loudly. But I am thrilled with it all.
​
Shondaland VV: Did you meet Sam Clemmett to talk about him taking on the role of young Brimsley?
HUGH SACHS: I met Sam at the read-through, and we just bonded immediately. It was like having a new nephew. And because he’d done two years in Harry Potter, I knew we’d speak the same language, as we’re both theater creatures. We met about three times after that, but from the beginning, I said, “It’s yours. Do with it whatever you like.” I didn’t want him to feel in any way beholden to me. I said, “You’re starting his story; you do whatever you like.” I just wanted him to have that freedom.
HUGH SACHS: What I find fascinating is that of the four of us who cross over from Bridgerton, you knew the least about Brimsley, so therefore, you get to know the most about him in Queen Charlotte. Adjoa, Golda, and me got to watch three scenes, and it was incredibly moving because they had established those women as strong, powerful, matriarchal, bright, witty women, and to see Arsema and India, these really delicate, sort of not yet fully formed young people — the three of us were just in floods of tears. It was almost like watching home videos, remembering when I was that young and life hadn’t hit me yet. I was struck about how emotional it was to see that.
​
​
Shondaland VV: Was there much difference performing with Golda in Queen Charlotte compared to Bridgerton?
HUGH SACHS: There was a lot more eye contact! Normally, she’s throwing orders over her shoulder because I’m always five feet behind her, but in Queen Charlotte there’s more talking between the two.
HUGH SACHS: That first scene when I’m talking to her about her daughters and we are eyeballing each other and she’s not bollocking me, she’s actually listening to what I’m saying, it was moving because with the pandemic and Covid protocols, I suddenly felt like it was the first bit of acting I’d done for about four years since most of what I get to do is respond to her orders. Golda, Tom, and I all hugged after that scene.
HUGH SACHS: Tom is a really good actor, but a brilliant director, and I think subconsciously we’d all been waiting for a moment like this where we got to explore these characters together in a more in-depth way. I love these meaty moments I get to have with Golda. Tom is so generous as a director — he sees everybody and creates this really warm, creative set. A lot of the crew from Bridgerton were there, so it was great to really flex those muscles with all of us in the room.
​
​
Shondaland VV: The in-depth exploration of these characters is no joke in Queen Charlotte. How did you approach it, specifically between you and your charge, the queen?
HUGH SACHS: One of the arcs of Queen Charlotte is the ricochet effect that George’s illness has on everybody. I’m sure it’s part of the reason Reynolds and Brimsley don’t stay together in the end. It certainly dominated her life — her desire to look after him and to get an heir meant she may not have been the best mother possible.
HUGH SACHS: There’s that beautiful scene when I tell her that her daughters are not getting married not because they’re being difficult or willful, but because they don’t want to leave her here alone while George is still alive, and that it’s an extraordinary act of love, what they’re doing. She thinks they’re just trying to be irritating, and I’m telling her that’s not who they are. George’s illness has affected her, it’s affected Brimsley, it’s affected her children. It was lovely to have those moments where I was not telling her off but just explaining that because I have watched these children grow up, I know a little bit about what they’re going through.
​
Shondaland VV: I guess it’s like that situation when you’re really good friends with somebody, you can say the hard things.
HUGH SACHS: Well, yes, or say nothing. Like that moment when Charlotte says, “I was a good mother,” and I don’t say anything. I’m basically saying in that moment of silence, “You are not a bad mother, but your children have a point. And I’m here to say, ‘Just give them a breathing space; they’re good kids.’”
​
Shondaland VV: It’s so interesting to hear you speak as Brimsley this way because it’s more like you’re her husband. Or at least, filling in for a role that George hasn’t been able to do because of his illness. Brimsley is like Queen Charlotte’s work husband!
HUGH SACHS: She will see Brimsley more than she will see George. Even though it’s a servant-master relationship, Brimsley was there from the beginning to guide her into this weird world. Lesser writers would’ve given the queen a sentimental moment to encapsulate that, but she just is absolutely who she is, and I’m absolutely who I am — living my life on tiptoes going, “What kind of mood is she in today?” But actually, because of the longevity, he will give her advice and go, “Look, be easy on these kids.”
HUGH SACHS: But the stress she’s under, I mean, not only is she the monarch, but she’s also raising her family, and she’s got to find an heir. It’s sort of like she’s the CEO of three of the biggest companies on the planet. And when one is under that pressure, some of the kindness gets rubbed off at the sides, and her kids get it in the neck. Brimsley has that moment when he says that everyone here cares for the king, so we are all in this together — we are all tiptoeing around his illness, and we need to look after each other.
​
Hugh Sachs: The Queen will see Brimsley more than she will see George. ...because of the longevity, he will give her advice and go, “Look, be easy on these kids.”
​
Shondaland VV: You’ve been acting for a long time, but have you ever had this sort of level of global recognition?
HUGH SACHS: I was in a really popular sitcom here for five seasons called Benidorm on ITV, which was loved by the people for whom it was made — mainly white, working-class people who holiday in that part of Spain. I left that show in 2011, and they carried on for another five seasons. People recognize me for that all the time here, which is weird. But I think it’s because Netflix bought it six months before lockdown, and lots of people started watching it from the start. I never thought I’d be on television, if I’m honest. I never saw anyone like me. I thought I’d just do plays, but now I’m in the second biggest series ever. I have this theory that if you want millions of viewers, it should have a single title, begin with a B, and I should be in it [laughs]. So, the whole experience of being in these shows is extraordinary; I’m still slightly bemused by it, really.
​
Shondaland VV: What has it been like to see how much the Bridgerverse has grown in popularity?
HUGH SACHS: What I love is that you don’t have to explain what it is. When I say I’m in Bridgerton, even though some people haven’t watched it, they know exactly what it is all about. That’s a real thrill. I tell people it is the equivalent of a long, hot bath with lots of candles and bath oil listening to your favorite album. People need distraction. We love the gritty crime dramas and the toxic family sagas, but Bridgerton is this world we all didn’t know we needed. The main thing is the joy that people get from it. And now I’ve had the thrill of finding out who I am in the spin-off. Who’d have thought when I went into that interview that we’d be here, four years later, talking about young Brimsley?
HUGH SACHS: I don’t think this would’ve happened on British television. It took Shonda Rhimes to go, ‘I’m going to take this genre, and I’m going to make it look like the world we live in.’ I have been waiting 30 years for this. See, above me at drama school was Jennifer Ehle, who did Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth. And in the trajectory of an English actor’s life, it was a huge boost to do a costume drama. In my year, there were six people of color, and I thought it was so unfair that they wouldn’t get any access. That whole generation — Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Sophie Okonedo, Adrian Lester — they all missed out on these opportunities. Now, no one can do all-white costume dramas. And that’s because of Shonda.
​
​
Shondaland VV: It will be so interesting to see how people read Brimsley in season three of Bridgerton and beyond because of all the backstory we’ve gotten.
HUGH SACHS: It’s like I say to my mates, if you ever go in for a walk-on in a Shondaland production, take it! You have no idea where you are going to end up.
https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/queen-charlotte-a-bridgerton-story/a43795768/hugh-sachs-brimsley-bridgerton-queen-charlotte/

​
Get the course here: [Download Course] Manny Khoshbin – Real Estate Starter Program (Genkicourses.site)
Our website: https://www.genkicourses.site/product/manny-khoshbin-real-estate-starter-program/
​

WHAT YOU GET?

Real Estate Investing Roadmap – your step-by-step guide to getting started
​Analyzing Properties Crash Course so you can find home run properties in any market
Creative Financing Overview to fund any deal (even with zero out of pocket)
​Due Diligence Checklist to diminish your risk & accelerate your learning curve
​Negotiation Tactics Breakdown with proven million dollar strategies
​Deal Closing Strategies detailing the entire process from start to finish
​Adding Value Breakdown to maximize cash flow and create a huge pop on the exit
​Taxes Crash Course – discover all methods available to shelter and reduce taxes
​Wealth Action Plan for massive net worth acceleration or holding assets for lifetime passive income
​​Millionaire Mindset Tips – the strategies Manny used to fast track his success

PLUS THESE BONUSES:

BONUS #1: Financial Starter Kit to track your income and set clear goals
​BONUS #2: Top resources, contracts, and forms you will need throughout your real estate journey
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
​
If you're wondering why our courses are priced lower than the original prices and are feeling a bit suspicious (which is understandable), we can provide proof of the course's contents. We can provide a screenshot of the course's contents or send you a freebie, such as an introduction video or another video from the course, to prove that we do have the course. Should you wish to request proof, we kindly ask you to reach out to us.
Please be aware that our courses do not include community access. This is due to the fact that we do not have the authority to manage this feature. Despite our desire to incorporate this aspect, it is, unfortunately, unfeasible.
Explore affordable learning at Genkicourses.site 🎓! Dive into a world of quality courses handpicked just for you. Download, watch, and achieve more without breaking your budget.