Who is Regé-Jean Page Bridgerton actor Simon Basset Duke of Hastings

25 Dec 2020

Tatler

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Who is RegéJean Page Bridgerton actor Simon Basset Duke of Hastings

Forget Mr Darcy, there’s a new period drama heartthrob on the scene

The arrival of Netflix’s lavish period drama, Bridgerton, has come as a welcome tonic in a particularly bleak winter. Based on Julia Quinn’s historical romance novels, it stars Phoebe Dynevor as young debutante Daphne Bridgerton opposite love interest the Duke of Hastings, played by actor Regé-Jean Page.

High society Regency London brought to life in first trailer for Netflix's Bridgerton

Shonda Rhimes, the American producer behind hits like Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, has given high society Regency London a Gossip Girl-esque makeover in the new series. Rife with scandal, intrigue and glamour, the Duke of Hastings, one Simon Basset, is the most sought-after bachelor in town – yet with little interest in either marriage or status.

Regé-Jean Page, who brings the brooding young Simon to life on screen, is a 30-year-old British actor. Born in Harare, Zimbabwe he moved to London at the age of 14, when his acting talent soon began to shine through. Page studied at Drama Centre London, graduating in 2013, before quickly embarking on an impressive stage career. Notable appearances include roles in The History Boys and Jonathon Munby’s 2015 production of The Merchant of Venice at Shakespeare’s Globe, which starred Jonathan Price.

A number of on screen roles soon followed, with Page playing trainee teacher Guy Braxton in Series 10 of BBC Three’s Waterloo Road – the same drama in which his Bridgerton co-star, Phoebe Dynevor, also made her television debut. It would still be some years before the pair worked together, however, as they each appeared in different series.

The glamorous country houses and bucolic gardens that bring Regency London to life in Bridgerton

2016 saw Page take on the role of Chicken George in the American 2016 miniseries Roots, a remake of the acclaimed 1977 original, based on Alex Haley’s 1976 novel. He then played the recurring character Leonard Knox in ABC legal drama For the People – also produced by Shonda Rhimes. Page’s big screen credits include 2018’s Mortal Engines and a role in the 2020 film Sylvie’s Love, which stars Tessa Thomspon.

Thanks to Netflix’s vast global audience, Page’s role in Bridgerton is set to take his profile to dizzying new heights. Yet when he’s not breaking hearts as the most handsome bachelor in Regency London, Page is a man of simple pleasures, with his Instagram account documenting his love of nature and keeping fit.

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