star has revealed she once auditioned for a fan-favourite character on … and now we’re picturing Lady Whistledown in the Upside Down.
Last month, fans of Nicola’s hit period drama were reunited with her character Penelope Featherington as she kept a watchful eye on Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and the in with sisters Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) and Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran).
Before taking on the role of the ton’s resident wallflower, the actor starred in as the ever-anxious and lovable Clare Devlin, who she’ll be playing for the last time when the premieres next week.
However, there was once a chance she could have appeared in sci-fi series Stranger Things, as she auditioned for the part of Robin Buckley, portrayed by Maya Hawke from season three.
In the show, viewers meet Robin while she’s working with Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) at the ice cream shop Scoops Ahoy at the mall, before the pair develop a strong friendship.
Nicola explained that she ‘auditioned for Stranger Things a number of years ago’, stating: ‘I auditioned to play Robin, Maya Hawke got it. She was far better than I ever would have been.’
Speaking to , the 35-year-old said that in her opinion, it would be a ‘good lesson to actors’ to watch the roles they missed out on to understand why they weren’t the right fit for the part.
‘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.’
Of course, Nicola found her ideal role in Bridgerton, with Penelope using her skills as a wordsmith to divulge tantalising gossip to the rest of society in Lady Whistledown’s pamphlets.
The actor recently opened up about , revealing to Metro.co.uk that the final season will mark ‘the end of their innocence’.
Dubbing the group of friends at the centre of the show as ‘a bunch of idiots’, she says: ‘It’s the end of their innocence, in a way, but you’re not going to think: “Oh, wow, what a metamorphosis!”’
Bridgerton and Stranger Things are available to watch on Netflix.
