5 things you should know about Regé-Jean Page, 'Bridgerton’s' breakout star
Netflix sure gave romance junkies a treat when it dropped the whole eight episodes of Bridgerton on Christmas Day.
Created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Shonda Rhimes, the delicious and raunchy series got many viewers binge-watching the entirety of it in one night.
It is based on Julia Quinn’s romance novels that follows Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), who enters into a pretend engagement with Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, portrayed by the newest heartthrob in town, Regé-Jean Page.
The 30-year-old actor is undeniably the hit show's breakout star and his cunning portrayal of the Duke even intensified his gorgeousness both on and off-screen.
Here are five things you should know about the crushable, fine-looking gent. You’re welcome!
He is half Zimbabwean, half English
Page was born in 1990 in Harare, Zimbabwe, according to Marie Clare. His mother is a Zimbabwean nurse, while his father is an English preacher. Their family moved to London when he was 14 years old.
Being raised in mixed cultures, he was often perceived as a "walking political statement.”
"Just by walking around with my face, I was saying, 'My parents did a fairly revolutionary thing that pisses off some of you,'" he told Interview.
He explained it further during his interview with The Guardian. He said, ”Zimbabwe was still a relatively young country when I was living there, and its post-apartheid society was only newly formed. Being a mixed-race child in that environment means that you have to think about crafting your own identity and you question why you belong in that world.”
Being in a punk band inspired him to become an actor
During his teenage years, Page and his brother formed a punk band where he sang, played drums, and, as Marie Claire describes it, “dyed his hair bright colors like green, blue, and purple, in true punk rock fashion.”
It’s an experience he considers “comforting” because it gave him the freedom to break boundaries.
"As a teenager, the idea of running around, screaming at people was very appealing to me," he told The Fall. "I found comfort in aggression, in breaking through false walls and challenging norms.”
He continued, ”When I got involved in the punk scene, my notion of what a career was changed. I realized that a career in the arts was actually about having the people and community to support you making your art.”
Aside from that, being part of a band inspired him to diversify his artistic skills. Page then studied in Drama Centre London, one of the best drama schools in the world where top actors Michael Fassbender, Tom Hardy, and Pierce Brosnan graduated from.
"It has a reputation for being overly intense and scary and that drew my attention right way," Page told Variety. "I learned how to be light about my work while taking it serious.”
He debuted in US showbiz as Chicken George in the Roots
Page entered US showbiz in 2016 when he landed the role of Chicken George in History Channel’s remake of the Roots.
In an interview with InStyle, Page said that being part of the remake of a show that “literally changed society” inspired him to be fully committed to his craft.
"It's a bit like someone's brought you their precious old coat, and you're the cobbler, and they're like, 'Please, can you mend this, and put some patches on it, and bring it into the 21st century?'" The actor said. "And it's like, 'Aw, man, you love this coat. This is really important to you, this keeps you warm. I need to put my best work into this.’”
He loves Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series
Marie Claire reported that when Page was cast in Bridgerton, he immediately read The Duke and I, the first book in Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series.
"It is so incredibly page-turning and digestible and delicious," he said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "I burned through it, and at moments, it burned through me.”
His fondness for the story came as no wonder, especially because he is a fan of romance.
"I'm a huge fan of romance as a concept. Romance is a wonderful thing and we need more of. It in the world," he told Entertainment Weekly. "Most things at their core are love stories anyway, whether they realize it or not. It's hilarious, the more seriously a show tries to take itself and detach itself from that, the more that the love story generally tends to come forward.”
He thinks Simon and Daphne has a lot more to offer beyond Bridgerton’s first season
While Netflix hasn’t divulged whether Bridgerton is getting another season, Page hinted that the Duke and Duchess of Hastings has a lot more love to offer beyond the first season.
"I'm not sure I believe in paradise. I know that the romance genre generally does—part of the deal is that you get a happy ending," he told TV Guide. "But as far as continuing to explore characters, I think that love is an evolving thing. It's a living, breathing thing that needs tending, that needs looking after, that needs mending when it gets worn or torn. They get married very young. They still have a lot of growing to do. They have a lot to do, and I think it'll always be fun to watch them do that together.”
Page added that viewers have also more to explore besides his and Deynevor’s characters.
"I think there are a lot of good stories to be told in this world," Page told OprahMag.com. "There's a plethora of characters and each of those characters has cousins, uncles, and dogs, and I think people enjoy exploring all of those depths and nooks and crannies.”
Banner photos from Netflix and David M. Benett/Getty Images.