The actor also says he’d have no qualms about production recasting the role of Simon for future seasons.
Regé-Jean Page is coming for Lady Whistledown’s feathered pen with his biting analysis of his Bridgerton character, Simon Basset.
Page, who portrayed the spoon-licking duke in the first season of Netflix’s steamy period romance drama, called his breakout character a “Regency f—boy” during a conversation with Variety’s Marc Malkin at the premiere of his upcoming spy thriller, The Gray Man.
The pearl-clutching analysis came after Page said that he has yet to watch season 2 of the Shonda Rhimes-produced series, which followed Anthony Bridgerton’s (Jonathan Bailey) quest to find a suitable wife and his all-consuming romance with the headstrong Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).
Page also said he would be fine with the production recasting Simon for fans hankering for his return: “They’re free to do as they like,” Page said. “Shonda and I had a wonderful conversation at the end of Season 1. We were quite happy with how we stuck the landing on that one.”
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He added of Simon’s journey from indifferent suitor to devoted husband, “We did so well on that redemptive arc that people forget that Simon was kind of horrific. He was the best example of a Regency f—boy that any of us had come across. And so, because we came around full circle so well, because we stuck that landing, you’re left with this great feeling.”
“You really do have to be brave about ending stories like that,” Page said. Netflix announced last April that the fan-favorite would not return to the sophomore season. Page previously explained that his departure was always part of the plan, telling Variety that one of the initial appeals of assuming the character was “it felt like a limited series.”
“I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on,” Page said at the time. “I have nothing but excitement for Bridgerton continuing to steam train off and conquer the globe. But there is also value in completing these arcs and sticking the landing.”
