Netflix series Bridgerton’s stars have insane chemistry – actors Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor talk about why
- The actors say the characters already had great chemistry in the books, and that practising their dancing together was ‘a wonderful way to get to know someone’
- The co-stars of the Regency-era romp also talk about experiencing their new-found fame in quarantine. ‘It’s so surreal,’ Dynevor says
The stars of Bridgerton have served us some piping hot tea about their off-screen relationship. Netflix’s hottest new on-screen couple, Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor, appeared remotely on Good Morning America last week to discuss their chemistry on Shonda Rhimes’ juicy period drama.
The English actors star as Simon Basset – also known as the Duke of Hastings – and Daphne Bridgerton, respectively, in the buzzy series based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels about love and lust in Regency-era England.
“Chemistry is probably the easiest part because Phoebe is lovely,” Page said of his co-star. “And we were working with such wonderful material. The characters already existed. These are bestselling books – people love them – and they have great chemistry in the books. All we had to do was channel through this amazing chemistry that already existed.”
Also key to their on-screen romance was an intimacy coordinator, a role that has become increasingly common on film and television sets in recent years. Intimacy coordinators are hired to foster a safe environment for cast members filming intimate scenes involving physical contact, of which there are many on Bridgerton.
“It was so great to have an intimacy coordinator,” Dynevor said. “We blocked every scene weeks before we started, so by the time we got to set, we knew exactly what we were doing, and we both felt safe, and it made the whole experience a lot easier and nicer for both of us.”
Throughout the series, Page and Dynevor’s characters attend several lavish parties, where they promenade and dance the night away in an attempt, at first, to fool onlookers into believing they are an item. Those sequences – often set to instrumental versions of pop hits by Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift, among others – involve intricate choreography that required “a lot of rehearsal”, according to Page.