Ritchie (right) with Penn Badgley in “You”—PHOTO COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Part of the reason why we find lovely and luminous actress Charlotte Ritchie appealing is anchored on how she acquits herself in Netflix’s suspense-thriller series “You,” which drops the five-episode second half of Season 4 on Thursday.
The 33-year-old British actress-singer may initially appear intimidating on-screen, but the former member of the classical crossover quintet All Angels also manages to imbue her portrayal of icy gallery manager Kate Galvin with sensitivity and a fair measure of vulnerability.
As an interviewee, Charlotte doesn’t sugarcoat her answers with disingenuous statements that aim to please. In fact, we sort of expected a prefabricated answer from her during our recent one-on-one chat.
When we asked her what her takeaway was from the series, Charlotte admitted, “My gosh, I don’t know how to sum it up. But what I would say is that this show isn’t always what you think it is.” And that, in our view, also explains why “You” has managed to keep its eager followers on tenterhooks through the years.
The actress even admitted that she didn’t watch the previous three seasons after she was asked to join the cast—with good reason.
“I decided not to watch all of the seasons before the shoot because I knew that it would take on a slightly new tone and a new kind of feel,” she explained. “The latest season goes on a different direction. Also, I didn’t want to know too much about Joe and the whole thing.
“I did watch a lot of episodes just to get the tone of it—how it feels, the way the lines are delivered. But after seeing the whole thing, I think it’s amazing. And time will tell whether that was a good choice or not (laughs).”Another polarizing theme at the heart of the series—which plays out like a bloody whodunit this time around—is the contentious issue of redemption. Given the string of churlish characters in Season 4, we asked Charlotte if she thought Joe Goldberg aka Jonathan Moore (Penn Badgley) and his darkly quirky gang in London deserved a shot at redemption.
“Do I personally believe if they deserve redemption? Yeah,” she replied. “But I don’t know how that plays out or in what form you can make that happen. Of course it’s very complicated if there are real-life victims involved and depending on the scale of the damage committed by that person. “But it’s hard with Joe, because he’s not up for facing who he is. And, for me, that’s the bit that matters the most… self-reflection. But yeah, I hope they also get their shot. Otherwise, it’s pretty bad news (laughs).”
Charlotte Ritchie —PHOTO COURTESY OF NETFLIX
At which part during the shoot were the principal cast members made aware of the show’s discombobulating bloodbath and other spoilers?
She quipped, “Oh, quite late! I was in the dark for a lot of it… so I didn’t really know what was happening as it was happening. I can’t quite remember exactly when, but I remember thinking, ‘I wonder what happens next (laughs).’
“So, there certainly were points at which I didn’t know what was going on. Now I know, obviously—and I can no longer remember what it feels like not to know. I mean, there’s a lot that happens in the show.
“So when I was finally watching the season in all its glory, I was like, ‘Oh, wow, they really did that!’ There are so many different characters with so many little plots weaving through—and it’s a pretty impressive feat the way they tied it all together.”
A different personIn terms of creating her character, the things that the actress found most challenging were Kate’s mean side—and, as the actress pointed out, the shoes she wore!
“Kate is instinctively quite different from me,” Charlotte mused. “First, she wears high heels all the time—and I can’t wear them very easily (laughs). I’m sure I also have my moments of weakness, but Kate is just very mean! It was the severity of her seriousness that I found difficult to bring to light, along with those heels, because I wear trainers nonstop.
“That may sound like nothing, but those heels were such a big part of Kate’s character… because she wears them every day. And, for any actor, a character’s shoes or outfit changes how you walk or feel about yourself. So yeah, that was a big one for me.” INQ