We all have gotten to know and love Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton, but the star actually had her eyes set on a different Netflix show first.
In a new interview with Buzzfeed, Nicola shared that she initially auditioned to play Robin Buckley on Stranger Things. “I auditioned for Stranger Things a number of years ago,” Nicola told the outlet. The part of Robin ultimately ended up going to Maya Hawke, but Nicola has no hard feelings.
“She was far better than I ever would have been,” admitted Nicola.
So, yes, in a parallel universe, Nicola would have joined the cast for Season 3 to work at Starcourt Mall’s Scoops Ahoy, wreaking havoc with Joe Keery’s Steve Harrington and investigating the Creel House in Season 4. Though Nicola acting on Stranger Things sounds awesome, the Bridgerton star doesn’t regret that it didn’t pan out.
“It’s a good lesson to actors: Watch the stuff you didn’t get, because you’ll totally understand how it’s not personal,” she said. “You’re just right for some things, and you’re not right for other things.” Wise words even for non-actors.
Nicola has been portraying Penelope Featherington, the youngest Featherington child, on Netflix’s Bridgerton since the show’s premiere in 2020. (Spoiler alert: Nicola’s character Penelope is actually one of the most crucial characters of the show — it was revealed at the end of S1 that Penelope moonlights as the show’s narrator and the Ton’s anonymous gossip writer, Lady Whistledown.)
Nicola also currently stars on the British teen sitcom Derry Girls, which recently premiered its third and final season on April 12, 2022.
Though Nicola didn’t land the character of Robin on Stranger Things, we’re still excited to see Maya Hawke reprise the role in the upcoming fourth season of the sci-fi coming-of-age series. See Maya and the rest of the Stranger Things cast in action, as Netflix recently unveiled the trailer for Stranger Things 4. The fourth season will be debuting its two volumes on the platform on May 27 and July 1.
Teen Vogue
Written by Sara Delgado
Published April 14, 2022
