Regé-Jean Page Says Bridgerton Could Go On and Replace Duke of Hastings
Regé-Jean Page is tired of being the talk of the high society.
In a red carpet interview with Variety published on July 13, the British actor best known for his role as Simon Bassett, the Duke of Hastings, in season one of Netflix’s period drama Bridgerton, quashed any rumors that he would return to the series once and for all.
In fact, he wouldn’t mind if they replaced the role for future seasons, which could work in the favor of his Bridgerton co-star Phoebe Dynevor.
“They’re free to do what they like,” Page, 34, told Variety at the premiere of Page’s new Netflix spy thriller, The Gray Man. “Shonda [Rhimes] and I had a great conversation at the end of season one. We were pretty happy with how we landed there.”
Page reiterated previous statements that his character’s arc in Bridgerton felt complete.
“We did such a good job with that redemption storyline that people forgot that Simon was a little bit horrible. He’s the best example of a Regency gigolo that any of us have ever seen,” Page continued. “And so because we’ve come full circle so well, because we’ve landed it, you get this great feeling. You really have to be brave when you end these stories.”
Not only does Page seem completely uninterested in reprising his role as the duke, the actor hasn’t even watched season two of the period drama to see what’s become of his character’s wife, Daphne Bridgeton (Dynevor). “I’m still not up to it,” Page said.
What’s more, Regé-Jean Page previously shut down recent rumours that he might return to the ‘ton’ in an Instagram post.
“The boys are back in town. ❤️,” he captioned a photo with former co-star Jonathan Bailey. “(No, I’m not returning to the show btw — the papers made that up.) But we had the best and most stylish get-together I’ve had in a while with some really great Italian coffee and sunshine ☕️.”
Well, that’s it, folks! Regé-Jean simply won’t be returning to Bridgerton, no matter how much, as Daphne puts it, “we’re on fire for him.”
