In the third season of “Bridgerton,” a brand new actor joined thescreen family’s cast.
Hannah Dodd replaced Ruby Stokes as Francesca, thesixth child in the Bridgerton family tree.
From an early age, Dodd showed herself to be a natural performer.
“So, I do dance.
I love dancing!”
“I always loved old school musical films, I loved the dancing in them,” she said.
And while Dodd didn’t end up becoming a professional dancer, her training helped her understand acting.
“Part of what I loved about dance was the storytelling element of it,” she said.
“I just used my body instead of my words.”
she mused to Marie Claire.
“It’s weird!”
Initially, she was actually worried that modeling would have a negative impact on her education.
“I was such a little try-hard geek at the time,” she quipped to theDaily Mail.
However, when she realized how expensive studying dance would be, she decided it would be worth it.
Modeling as a teenager also helped Dodd grow up a little faster than her peers.
Dodd and her housemates took their training seriously.
“We were very good girls,” she told the Daily Mail.
Dodd still calls London home and on her days off, she catches up with her old college friends.
But Dodd remained humble.
Especially as she got the chance to dance in the 2014 ad.
“It’s shot so beautifully.
As she told Marie Claire, it was her first job after graduating from college.
Her character, Thea, was the “mean girl” at a dance academy.
“I’m really grateful for that job because it was the job that set everything off.
“It was so crazy,” she told us.
“When I auditioned for it, I didn’t know what I was auditioning for.”
“I was sat there in this room with amazing people.
Sounds like she still can’t quite believe she got to be part of such a giant project!
Naturally, Dodd was a little anxious about portraying the iconic Miller.
“I was just like, ‘Oh god, what are we going to do?
How do you give me her face?’
There was loads of makeup.”
Luckily, Dodd did plenty of prep work both physical and mental before the shoot.
She also did a deep dive into ’90s culture so she could better understand the time period.
Even after all of her success, landing the role was a big shock to Dodd.
“I’m so grateful for that job.
I don’t really understand how I’m in it!”
she confessed to The Italian Reve.
Once again, Dodd found herself star-struck when she first met her co-stars especially the legendary Helena Bonham-Carter.
I was like, ‘I have to sit next to her?
It was insane,” she told us.
In the origin story, Dodd portrayed Corrine Foxworth, the daughter of Malcolm and Alicia Foxworth.
Initially, Dodd was a little overwhelmed by the role.
“I was very nervous and really overwhelmed …
So, she dove into her prep work, watching the old film and reading the books.
The series was filmed in Romania during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When filming wrapped, Dodd took toInstagramto share her feelings about the show.
“Dodd landed the leading role afterRuby Stokes played the character for the show’s first two seasons.
At first, Dodd didn’t even know what she was auditioning for.
“It was all kept quite secret,” she told Fabric Magazine.
In fact, she only found out moments before meeting the team.
Dodd landed the role just a few weeks later.
Dodd may have been nervous, but she ended up having a wonderful time on set.
She also had to learn about the Regency era.
The trickiest thing to learn, however, was the piano, which Dodd actually plays in the show.
“I went straight into piano lessons,” she told The Italian Reve.
She had never played before, but she was up for the challenge.
Luckily, her dance training proved to be useful.
“I had to use my dance brain and learn finger choreography,” she told the Daily Mail.
“My piano teacher taught me it as a little dance.”
However, she confessed, she forgot how to play each piece after filming each respective scene.
As she told the Daily Mail, it was just a “teeny flat” in Southeast London.
“It’s my own little space,” she said.
“Before that, my dad had moved me so many times.
I was like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.'”
Hannah Dodd has dreams of being in a musical
So, what’s next for Hannah Dodd?
In fact, Dodd is keen to get back to her musical roots.
Her dream jot down of role?
“I don’t think I’d say no to a lot,” she said.
I’m available!”
The project began filming in Montenegro in late 2023.
