‘Bridgerton’ Star’s Role Cut From Brad Pitt’s New Movie

One Bridgerton star was cut from Brad Pitt’s new movie.

Despite filming scenes for F1, Simone Ashley’s scenes have been drastically cut.

The actress, who stars in Bridgerton as Lady Kate Bridgerton, was first announced for the Formula One racing drama in July 2024. However, it’s been confirmed that the film, also starring Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Kim Bodnia, and Javier Bardem, will no longer feature Ashley aside from brief appearances with no lines of dialogue. Director Joseph Kosinski told PEOPLE what happened when it came time for post-production.

“It happens on every film, where you have to shoot more than you can use,” Kosinski explained. “There were two or three storylines that ultimately didn’t make into the final cut. But Simone, she’s an incredible talent, incredible actress, incredible singer, and I would love to work with her again.”

Although Ashley has not yet spoken about her reduced role, she has talked about working on F1, such as in March when she told Who What Wear how long production had been going on for. “This film, gosh, has been going on for years,” she said. “I met for this movie, I think, before Bridgerton even came out. Obviously, with the strikes and delays, we finally wrapped in Abu Dhabi in December. It’s been a long time, and you know, it’s Damson and Brad’s movie. I’m just so grateful that I can be part of it, and yeah, we’ve toured with the Grand Prix. We were filming at the real races.”

“You had to work as a team,” she continued. “Sometimes, we literally had one take for certain shots. Like, you’d see on the call sheet eight minutes to get this one thing because we were shooting alongside the races. Oh, it was amazing, the adrenaline. It was kind of like theater. It felt so live. [It’s just] the [craziest] thing I think I’ve ever done in my life. You hear the crowd and the fireworks and the cars. Everything’s just so fast-paced and noisy, and we’re all together as a little unit. It was just one of the craziest things I think I’ve ever been part of. Really great, really lovely. Just grateful I got to be part of it. I mean, it’s a Brad Pitt movie. [It’s] kind of awesome.”

Details surrounding Ashley’s role in the film have been kept under wraps, but with F1 releasing on Friday, fans will be able to see what it is and maybe even figure out what her bigger story could have been. At the very least, fans will soon be able to see her in the fourth season of Bridgerton, premiering in 2026 on Netflix. Ashley also recently starred in the Prime movie Picture This alongside After’s Hero Fiennes Tiffin. Next up, she will be starring in the thriller This Tempting Madness with NCIS: Origins star Austin Stowell.