Phoebe Dynevor shares secret to sizzling chemistry with Regé-Jean Page in Bridgerton
Ladies and gents, the sexy period drama Bridgerton has become the toast of the town. In its first four weeks, the Shondaland production on Netflix has been projected to reach more than 63 million households, which would make it the streaming service’s fifth biggest original series to date.
The successful season debut last month has been credited to the storytelling, as well as the sizzling chemistry between the lead stars Phoebe Dynevor and Regé-Jean Page.
Phoebe and Regé play the debutante Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke of Hastings Simon Bassett in the series adaptation of Julia Quinn’s Regency England-era romance novels.
Showrunner Chris Van Dusen said of the chemistry of Phoebe, 25, and Regé, 31: “With Regé, we knew him from his previous work with Shondaland (For The People) and we were all in love with him. He has this air about him. He’s so charming. You watch him and you’re transfixed.
“When Phoebe and Regé read together, we knew we had something really special. Phoebe has this special spirit about her. As Daphne, she’s a picture perfect debutante, wide-eyed and innocent. Yet, there’s something really vulnerable about Phoebe’s performance, which works so incredibly well.”
In more recent international reports, perhaps mirroring their characters’ storyline as favorite subject of an anonymous gossip writer who goes by the nom de plume Lady Whistledown (voiced by Sound of Music star Julie Andrews), the two stars have also been rumored to be dating in real life. (An Access Hollywood report said they denied it.)
Nevertheless, ahead of the show’s premiere, The STAR and select Philippine press had a little virtual Q&A with Phoebe who told us how this onscreen chemistry became possible.
According to her, it helped that they actually had almost two months to prepare for the Bridgerton shoot, with their bonding built over the dance rehearsals for the grandiose balls in the series.
“I think, a lot of it was actually in the prep. We were able to spend quite a lot of time together. We had sort of six weeks running up to the shooting of the show. And we did a lot of dance rehearsals together. And we actually did some with everyone as well. When we first met the whole cast, we all did this sort of one big dance. Like a little practice, a boogie, which really brought us all together. That enabled us to know what this world is.”
She continued, “So with Regé, we had a lot of things to do. And it just really brought us together. There’s a lot of trust that comes with dancing and it’s a fun experience.”
As for the steamy scenes, they received help from an intimacy coordinator.
“We had an amazing intimacy coordinator as well, who did all our scenes, our intimacy scenes. And it was just... we got along really well. It was just sort of like, we just really wanted to do that justice. You know, it’s such a big part of the story of Season 1. We just really wanted to do that justice. And hopefully we did.”
Starring in a period drama that delved into love and romance had her fascinated with certain etiquette followed by people courting during that time.
“There were so many aspects that were fascinating about those times. I mean, the idea of the marriage mark, for me, was just incredible. That women would, you know, have the sole intention when they turned 18 or whatever it was, to find a man and marry — I think that in itself was quite crazy for me to understand.
“And this is a silly one, but I did quite a bit of horse riding and side-saddle. Like I just don’t understand side-saddle at all. Why on earth would you have to sit by a bubble on a horse? But there’s a moment where she (Daphne) really needs to ride that horse and I really wanted her to be sort of normal riding because it’s just impossible to actually properly ride a side-saddle. It seemed really silly to me,” she laughed.
Phoebe was also asked for her thoughts on why audiences love romance stories of this time period. She said, “There’s something so flamboyant and epic about Regency England, and particularly high society, like it was such an incredible time. I mean, there were so many riches. And it was sort of ridiculous when you watch it, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I mean, the spreads of food that they would have and the outfits, the costumes, the more amazing locations that we got to shoot it. I mean, it was just all so over-the-top of ridiculous but absolutely stunning.”
There’s another reason why she believes Bridgerton connects to the modern-day audience. “I think everyone can relate to that butterfly feeling where you know that something is magical, you feel obsessed with this person and everything is wonderful. I also think that the complicated family dynamic, the female stories, and the character arcs are really relatable. There’s something for everyone in Bridgerton and I think that’s why it’s a special show.
After Season 1, how does Phoebe want to see her character develop in the rumored future seasons?
“It’s funny but when I first read the script, I was sort of like, okay, there were so many difficult challenging themes. I mean, there was sort of no stone left unturned with Daphne in Season 1.
“I think I got to play so many aspects of her and I wouldn’t even know what to ask for. I did the horse riding, we did piano, we did rain and sex — everything was checked off. So honestly, I haven’t thought about that. I feel like in Season 1, they sort of ticked all those boxes. So, if there was a Season 2, I’d be intrigued to see what they could do.”
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