The Hardest Scenes To Film In Netflix's Bridgerton, According To Rege-Jean Page

Rege-Jean Page as The Duke of Hastings in Bridgerton

Shondaland’s Bridgerton has made quite a lot of buzz since its Netflix release on Christmas day. The new series has made a home on Netflix’s top ten list, and people are still talking about the masterful ways modern aspects are employed on the period piece. But the show is also getting attention for its steamy sex scenes. Bridgerton has a number of standout sex scenes, including a three-minute sex montage. Although you may assume these scandalous scenes were difficult for the cast and crew to get through, leading man Regé-Jean Page has a completely different type of scene in mind as the winner of "Most Difficult Scene to Film."

Regé-Jean Page recently explained that the scenes that were most difficult for him to film the moments in which there are high emotions. These scenes require minimal reaction, which makes them difficult to act out. In his own words:

The hardest moments are the very, very subtle barbs and hurts over the dinner table. When someone says something that you don’t get to blow up about, that you don’t get to cry about, you just have to take that sting right in the ribcage and express that through a flick of an eyebrow or through the way that you cut your peas.

Regé-Jean Page’s character in Bridgerton, The Duke of Hastings, definitely has plenty of brooding looks and eyebrow raises that convey tones not spoken, which makes his comment completely understandable. His character has a not-so-pleasant past that has affected him emotionally as an adult. For the most part, the Duke of Hastings keeps his past and true emotions under wraps, but Page seems to keep his character’s personal history and emotional state in mind when choosing how to act out his scenes.

In the same interview with Netflix Queue, Regé-Jean Page recalls a particular scene where he needed to express the Duke’s hurtful past without it being outrightly said. According to Page:

There’s a moment in the house of the Bridgertons where it’s ostensibly a quite calm, happy scene. I’m at dinner for the first time with this family. I really don’t want to be there, but you can’t say that. The kids are there and they’re all happy and playing and being accepted in exactly the warm and loving family that Simon never had. And that is never explicitly mentioned in the script in that moment. No one’s going to say it. But it is the biggest thing about that scene for him. Inhabiting that space is the most challenging but also the most gratifying part.

This particular scene takes place before viewers know the extent of the neglect the Duke of Hastings experienced as a child and how it has affected the way he chooses to live his life. When looking back at the scene that presents the Duke’s awful childhood, you are able to see how uncomfortable he is surrounded by a family that wants to be around each other.

While you’re waiting for news of a second season, you may want to rewatch Bridgerton and pay closer attention to The Duke’s facial expressions, as there may be more meaning behind them than you may have realized. CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all things Bridgerton, and be sure to check out our updated Netflix schedule.

Carlie Hoke
Content Writer

Constantly thinking about books, coffee, and the existential dread I feel from Bo Burnham’s Inside.  While writing I’m also raising a chaotic toddler, who may or may not have picked up personality traits from watching one too many episodes of Trailer Park Boys.