James Phoon, a New Face on ‘Bridgerton,’ Is Team Ariana Grande

James Phoon couldn’t quite imagine himself cavorting among the 19th-century bon tons of “Bridgerton.” Then he read that the first Chinese person gained British citizenship in 1805.

“As someone who’s mixed East Asian — I’m part Chinese, part English — up until very recently I never thought that I would be working on a period piece,” he said.

Phoon joined the hit series in Season 3, whose second half began streaming on Netflix on Thursday, playing Harry Dankworth, the new husband of Prudence Featherington.

“To be able to take up that space and represent people who are watching at home, it really means a lot,” he said.

In a video call from London, where he was finishing the run of “Underdog: The Other Brontë” at the National Theater before moving with the show to Newcastle, Phoon, 30, discussed why his iPad and Apple Pencil, X-Men comics and Ariana Grande are among his cultural must-haves. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

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My Journal

Every year I buy a blank scrapbook and turn it into this wellness journal. I decorate it with watercolors, and each month has a different aesthetic theme. At the beginning of the month, I write my goals, and at the end of the month I write a list of happy moments. And then I have This Month’s Win, which is one thing — work-related or personal, or just something that made you smile — that you want to hold onto.