Since Rege-Jean Page’s breakout role in Bridgerton, we’ve been discovering how intelligent and grounded he is. We’ve also noticed how damn fine Rege is too, but that is another post. Rege, who will not be returning for season two, had a conversation with The Crown’s Emma Corrin as part of Variety’s Actors on Actors series. Rege made the profound observation that Simon is an archetype of an emotionally stunted man. He said that he had to make Simon layered enough so that Simon wouldn’t be depicted as a toxic man who no one would root for. Rege wanted Simon to be a romantic hero and worked to humanize. Below are a few more highlights from Variety:
On what he thought when he read the Bridgerton script
I was like, OK, cool. It’s a period drama. It’s Jane Austen-esque. Why are we doing this now? What does it have to contribute? We have a couple hundred years between Jane Austen and where we’re at now, which means we’ve got like five or six waves of feminism since. And so, in carrying the torch, we need to make some ground with it.
Because Simon’s an archetype that already exists. He’s Darcy. He’s Heathcliff. He’s a tall, dark, brooding, emotionally stunted man.
On Simon’s journey
When you say the word “hero,” it implies it’s someone you look up to. We talk a lot with “Bridgerton” about it being female-centric, but also, what are men looking up to? What am I doing with this icon of masculinity?
What’s making this meal actually worth eating? I think of “Bridgerton” as a Happy Meal but with secret vitamins put in there. It’s like a secretly healthy, organic burger.
On Simon’s relationship with his father
I think that will tie into masculinity as well. The relationship to your dad. How you inherit responsibility? What do you do with that power?
Listen, I love me some Rege-Jean. The man is an absolute gem and he is so thoughtful. I love the way Rege approaches his characters. When he said he starts with his character’s shoes when building their personalities, I felt that. That is the one thing I look at first when I meet someone, their shoes. You can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. It was dope when Rege made the connection to Emma between an audition and Diana’s Balmoral test. He also took into consideration that the Regency period was before the feminist movements but the books were post feminist revolution.
Rege truly loves the art of acting and it shows in his insight into the source material, into his character and in his incredible delivery. Every time I see an interview of Rege’s I fall more in love with him. I really can’t wait to see his upcoming projects. I am sure he will be just as methodical about building those characters too. Rege definitely has a bright future ahead of him in show business. Now let me go watch these Audi commercials.
The full interview:
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