Golda Rosheuvel - ‘I don’t see my dyslexia as a failure anymore’
How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
Race in casting: too exotic or not enough
Golda shares painful casting feedback about appearing 'too exotic' or 'not black enough' and career impact.
Best known for her role as Queen Charlotte in Bridgerton, Golda Rosheuvel is an acclaimed actor of stage and screen. Her career spans powerful theatrical roles including Romeo and Juliet, Jesus Christ Superstar and a groundbreaking lesbian interpretation of Othello. She also stars in the spin-off series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
In this conversation, Golda speaks movingly about her childhood and family: how her mother, a white social worker, met her father, a Guyanese Anglican priest, by chance at a choir rehearsal in Jamaica. She reflects on discovering she was dyslexic, navigating rejection, experiencing racism, struggling with motivation - and even failing an early audition for Bridgerton. Plus: why representation is so important.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction
04:12 Impact of Representation and Public Recognition
08:39 Challenges with Dyslexia
21:15 Navigating Identity and Belonging
28:10 Professional Challenges and Identity
29:08 Casting and Industry Feedback
29:47 Facing Rejection and Overcoming Setbacks
30:32 Failed Auditions and Lessons Learned
31:45 Challenges of Racial Identity in Theatre
34:04 Progress in Representation and Diversity
35:35 Reflecting on Parental Influence
38:58 Navigating Personal and Professional Identity
40:36 Struggles with Exercise and Motivation
47:54 Final Thoughts and Legacy
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
‘I’m not half anything. I’m a whole... I found who I want to be.
‘I don't see [dyslexia] as a failure because it was never told to me that it was a failure... It was, “you see the world differently”. This is really exciting.’
‘Representation is important. We wanna see people who look like us, who we can relate to.’
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Part one of Bridgerton season four premieres on 29th January on Netflix; part two begins streaming on 26th February
Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/
📚 WANT MORE?
Gillian Anderson - on her failure to eat well or exercise and why she never wants to do what people tell her swap.fm/l/7NyZMzkfVOpGyDtlB6k0
Letitia Wright - on bullying, rejection, self-doubt, anxiety and depression. Plus how faith and friendship helped her turn those struggles into strength and purpose swap.fm/l/orHGF9VMU6s1FOH3bupc
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Website: www.elizabethday.org
Elizabeth and Golda answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
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Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan
Engineer: Matias Torres
Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson
Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot
Executive Producer: Alex Lawless
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
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