Opportunity to do audiobooks very freeing: ‘Bridgerton’ star Nicola Coughlan on ‘Misdirected’

New Delhi, Feb 5 (PTI) “Bridgerton” star Nicola Coughlan, who has lent her voice to Audible Original “Misdirected”, says being a part of the audiobook was a liberating experience as an actor who is constantly on the move from one set to another.

Also voice starring Gwilym Lee, “Misdirected” is written by New Zealand-based author Lucy Parker. The audiobook, billed as a steamy new enemies-to-lovers story, was released exclusively on Audible on February 4.

Coughlan, best known to Indian audiences as Penelope Featherington from the 19th century-set romance drama “Bridgerton”, said lending her voice to “Misdirected” was a lot of fun.

“I love getting the opportunity to do audiobooks, because it’s very freeing. Filming a TV show or a movie is a very stop, start (process), just by the nature of the beast. You might have 10 different camera setups and a lot of things to factor in. But when it’s audio, it’s super free. It’s just you in the room generally…

“On this, we had a fantastic director, but you have a sound recorder. It’s just the three of you. It feels very intimate. It felt fun to do… I was like, ‘Gosh, it would be much easier if it was like this’. It’s much quicker in ‘Misdirected’ than it is in real life. It was a no-brainer for me,” the Irish actor told PTI in an interview.

“Misdirected” voice stars Coughlan as Hattie Murton, who lands an acting role in the bodice-ripping drama “Leicester Square” and Lee as Anthony Rafe, the villain of the show adapted from a bestselling romance novel.

When “Leicester Square” propelled its core cast to household-name status within a month, Hattie is forced to navigate press tours, overly invested fans, and a cutthroat industry with Anthony, an A-lister who is an “absolute prat”.

“As reality starts to imitate art a little too close for comfort, the world’s most unlikely couple might just have more in common than they thought…” read the official synopsis of the audiobook.

Coughlan said “Misdirected” allowed her to play many characters in the same project.

“It was amazing… On screen, you never get to play every character. The thing I love about audio is just being able to very quickly switch from one (character) to the other… It’s a big challenge, but it’s great. It was so much fun,” she added.

The 38-year-old actor, also known for period teen sitcom “Derry Girls” and dark comedy drama “Big Mood”, said she hopes people enjoy listening to “Misdirected”.

“I hope that it’s a really fun lesson. I think that’s why people love romance. It’s a world in which you know that everything’s going to work out and there’s something very comforting and lovely in that. I look forward to people just having a really, really great time listening to this,” she said.