Hyacinth actress Florence Hunt tells her story

Florence Hunt’s Hyacinth has long been the baby of the “Bridgerton” family. When Hunt first joined the Netflix show in 2019 as the youngest child in the family, she was 12 years old and about to make her television debut on Netflix’s fantasy series Cursed. Now 19 years old and a two-time SAG Award nominee for ensemble performance, Hunt has spent her teenage years splitting her time between modern-day England and Regency-era London.

‘Bridgerton’ is based on the romance novels by author Julia Quinn, with each book and subsequent season focusing on a particular sibling. Hyacinth’s seventh novel, It’s in His Kiss, introduces Hyacinth’s lover, Gareth St. Clair, as a young man struggling with his mean father and trying to translate his late mother’s diary from Italian to English. This is where Hyacinth comes into play.

Throughout the show’s first three seasons, Hyacinth’s role was relatively limited from an early age. She is usually seen in family settings, catching her siblings off guard with well-meaning but surprisingly insightful questions about their love lives, and brings an endearing innocence to the show. Season 4 marks a turning point not only for Hyacinth, but also for the Bridgerton lineup. Quinn’s book is officially half-finished, telling the stories of four siblings, four of whom are yet to be explored, but viewers will see Hyacinth begin to inch closer to the spotlight this season.

Previous seasons have focused on the romances of Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page), Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley), and most recently Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan).

Now, it’s finally the turn of torture artist Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson). Eventually fascinated by the stranger who escapes from his mother’s masquerade ball, Benedict unwittingly reunites with his “Silver Lady”, but this time as herself, and is deeply attracted to a young maid named Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha). At the same time, Benedict’s siblings continue to move on with their lives, and Sophie ends up being taken into the Bridgerton household as Hyacinth and Heloise’s maid.

And for the first time on the show, Hyacinth has a storyline that’s all hers. The teenager is desperate to make her debut in Regency-era England, secretly attending social events and eagerly attending etiquette lessons while her younger sister Héloise (Claudia Jessie) watches. Hyacinth is ready to step out into the world while her final lover and days of Italian translation approach. As Bridgerton’s squire John states in the season’s opening sequence, “Princess Hyacinth has risen.”

Hunt spoke about growing up on one of Netflix’s most popular shows, her character’s aspirations to enter society, and what’s next for Hyacinth Bridgerton.

I was 12 when I first started playing Bridgerton, and now I’m 18. What is it like to grow with hyacinths?

It’s a huge part of my entire being and it’s crazy to think about. It’s definitely an honor to grow up with any character, but that character in particular is Hyacinth, who I really admire.

This season, Hyacinth is anxious to make her social debut and go out into the world. The housekeeper said she tried to sneak into the ball four times, and the audience witnessed one of the attempts take place at a masquerade ball. Does Hyacinth want to start a life of her own since she has seen so many siblings fall in love and start a family?

I have one older sister, and I think it’s only natural to have a sibling to look up to when you’re young. Hyacinth has seven older siblings who have experienced these adult situations and it is primarily through them that she is exposed to the outside world. As a young child, you desperately want to get there and be a part of that journey, but you can’t quite grasp the fact that you’re young and that it can’t happen yet. I feel like I related to that when I was younger, too. My sister got social media apps before me, and I thought, “That’s not fair!” You want to be on the same level as them, and Hyacinth is making a serious effort to join his older siblings.

It’s still a few years away, but are you ready to turn heads when you finally become the romantic lead of the season? Was there any hesitation about ultimately becoming the romantic lead of the show and how that would impact your on-screen portrayal?

That’s a very exciting thought because I value hyacinths very much. It’s such an honor just to see what happens in her life. Of course I read the book. I know what the end goal is, but being able to continue it with her to the end is an absolute dream. So I do. But it can also be nerve-wracking. “Bridgerton” is such a huge show, and there’s so much pressure to keep everyone entertained in that season. All my co-stars who played my brothers played it very smoothly, so there was a lot of pressure to live up to that. I’m in a great position and have watched everyone do great work over the years, so I’ve learned a lot of lessons.

Are there any aspects of her story that you would like to see translated into film? What do you want to see from Hyacinth as her character continues to grow over the season?

It will be fun to see how she is eventually introduced to Marriage Mart. We’ve spent so many seasons building up her presentation to society and meeting these potential suitors, so I’m really excited to see how she would actually handle a situation like that, because that’s what she wants. There are different aspects to the story, such as reading Italian from a diary. I don’t speak Italian. One of the things I was thinking of doing this year is to feature Italian, whether that part of the story is used or not.

What theory do you have as to how Hyacinth obtained the dress, and specifically the mask, to sneak into the masquerade ball?

I think she raids her brothers’ closets a lot. I feel like this isn’t the first time. This isn’t her first rodeo. I can see her sneaking around from a young age, and I feel like she has a brother somewhere who is helping her out. I guess she probably didn’t do this all by herself. I think someone helped her – maybe Francesca, who knows?

If you could describe Hyacinth’s character arc in Part 2 in three words, what would they be?

A lesson, a maturity, and she…relaxes. “Wise” might be a better word. We go smart.

Many of Hyacinth’s scenes this season are with Héloïse, her reluctant chaperone during etiquette lessons. They clearly want very different things in life, and in episode 4 Hyacinth tells Héloïse that she thinks her sister is only interested in her. Can you tell us about that tense dynamic and how it will continue in Part 2?

They end up teaching each other a lot. Hyacinth ultimately learns a great lesson from Héloïse, but I secretly suspect that Héloïse also learns and draws from Héloïse. They are so different that they ultimately balance each other out. It was also really fun for me and Claudia to play because we’re really close in real life. It was very fun to discuss with her, because we have known each other for a long time and were literally like brothers.

In addition to her mother and sisters, Hyacinth grows up surrounded by her brother’s wives and is surrounded by strong, respectable women. What impact did they have on her?

She really is a very strong person and looks like her mother. She obviously never met her father and grew up with this single mother who was able to raise eight children smoothly.[Violet Bridgerton]is very well respected in society and she is the rock of the family. She really looks up to her mother, as all her siblings do. She loves her sisters and wants to be like them, of course, but she also learned from them and the brothers’ wives we met.

This season, Benedict’s lover Sophie is especially close to Hyacinth, working as her maid. There’s a bit of possessiveness when Héloïse calls Sophie her maid. Can you tell us something about that relationship?

For Hyacinth, she thinks Héloïse has it all. She can become part of the Marriage Mart and meet suitors, and that’s all Hyacinth wants. She finally lets Sophie into her life as the young lady’s maid, and she’s like, “This is my friend, Sophie.” Obviously, she is the young lady’s maid, but Hyacinth really sees her as a friend. She likes to think that she finally has something. But we ended up forming some really nice friendships, so it was a lot of fun to play.

In Part 2, what do you think Hyacinth’s reaction will be to her mother’s budding romance?

Me and Will (Tilston) talked about this. We know it’s happening, but we choose to turn a blind eye to it. If it’s your own mother, it’s easier. But I think Hyacinth is secretly very happy, and of course, who doesn’t want to see their mother happy? Violet deserves it.

Anthony played a big role in Hyacinth’s life, taking on the role of a father. How has his absence affected her this season?

There’s a really great scene where he comes back. For a child with many siblings, I don’t think there’s anything better than having all the siblings in the same room. He definitely taught her quite a lesson and left it with her, and she can also rely on her other siblings to look for that male figure in her life.

As for the standout scenes in Part 1, Francesca’s quest to understand what an orgasm is leads to a series of humorous and awkward conversations with various members of her family. What did you think of the discussion about this season’s “top”?

Crazy crazy conversations. Please read to the end in case it is being discussed.

What was it like growing up on the set of one of Netflix’s most popular shows as a teenager? Do you have any special memories?

It’s really special to grow up with such an amazing group of people. It’s a special and strange experience to have these people play the roles of brothers and feel like they’re brothers who lived apart in real life. I can’t even imagine what my life would be like without the show. Because the show is a very important part of my life and has been for a long time. It’s very special as an actor to be able to continue acting for that long and develop a character over such a long period of time. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell the difference between seasons, so I try to write down small and insignificant things that happen on set in my photos to refresh my memory.

How did you balance “Bridgerton” and school?

I was a private tutor until I was 16 years old. We shot that day and then Will and I had to go out and do five hours of tutoring, which was hell. But we got through it. After the age of 16, tutoring is a choice, but it becomes less important. So I continued going to school, studying on my own time and managing to sit my A-levels (exams). That makes me really happy.

Outside of the show, what do you hope to do next with your career?

I can’t wait to see what happens. There’s some really exciting content in the works right now, and I can’t wait to see what this universe brings. I really enjoy making independent films, so I would like to continue doing that in the future.

This interview has been edited and condensed.