Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson opens up about co-star Jonathan Bailey’s secret ‘manual’ to being a leading man

When it came to stepping up to the plate as Bridgerton’s leading man in the long-awaited new season, Luke Thompson had help on offer from his predecessor – but was determined to forge his own path, even if it meant risking “a few mistakes” along the way.

Season two star Jonathan Bailey – AKA Anthony Bridgerton (who is also, of course, Wicked’s Fiyero) – has previously revealed in interviews that he put together a type of “manual” for his on-screen siblings who would later follow in his footsteps in taking on the central role as their love story unfolded.

Fans were given the steamy romance between Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) during the last season of the popular Netflix series – and this time around, it’s bohemian second son Benedict who falls in love with a mysterious masked woman, Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha).

Despite many of his siblings being happily married, Benedict has long been loath to settle down – but he abruptly finds that stance flipped on its head after encountering the unidentified Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball.

In a Cinderella-esque twist, Benedict’s subsequent society-wide search for her proves fruitless, as she is, in fact, a maid who’d managed to slip into the glamorous event unnoticed.

(Well, almost unnoticed).

While it was reassuring to know that Bailey’s advice was available “were [Thompson] to need it” as he faced potential “problems and pressures” during filming, the actor, 37, felt it was a deeply “personal” experience to play the frontline Bridgerton.

“I did want to … just work it out myself. I think you only really learn properly by making a few mistakes long the way – and so, actually, I did,” he told news.com.au ahead of season four’s premiere.

“It’s such a personal experience that you sort of shape yourself, and different actors feel different pressures. So I tried to sort of make my own way through it.”

Meanwhile, for Sydney-born actress Yerin Ha, stepping into the world of Bridgerton – and as its starring lady, no less – could have proven daunting had it not been for the symbolism of the first scene she shot with Thompson.

In it, the chemistry-laden pair is seen sharing a carefree moment as they fly a kite together, away from society’s gaze, with Sophie initially reluctant to participate in such an intimate activity.

“It was beautiful, because I feel like it was a nice parallel in terms of for Sophie … she’s letting her walls down in that scene, and it was also a confirmation of like, ‘oh, I can let my walls down, too’.”

The 27-year-old added: “It just felt like we’d been doing it forever. It was such a beautiful day.”

When Bridgerton finally makes its long-awaited return on January 29 after eighteen months, millions of fans will be tuning in to see how Benedict and Sophie’s story unfolds – including, it turns out, celebrity devotees such as Jennifer Lopez.

The singer and actress is such a dedicated viewer that she even threw a lavish Bridgerton-themed bash for her 55th birthday last year, posting pictures of the elegant affair on social media.

It came as a delightful surprise to the hordes of other Bridgerton fans all over the world – but some of the cast already had an inkling of her obsession, thanks to a subtle Instagram act.

“[Lopez] followed me [on Instagram] – and that’s when I knew!” Newton, 32, told news.com.au, with co-star Hannah Dodd (Francesca Bridgerton) also chiming in: “She followed me as well!”

Newton added: “Yeah, that’s when we knew that there was a Bridgey fan.”

The US’ former First Lady’s admission of being a “Bridgey fan” was also unexpected, according to Thompson – especially as it came with quite a racy statement.

“I was quite surprised that Jill Biden watched it … she got asked about one of the sex episodes, and she was like, ‘yeah, I know about episode six’.”

“I really remember that and thinking like …. ‘Wow!’” he laughed.

Part 1 of Bridgerton season 4 (episodes 1-4) will be available to stream on Netflix from January 29, with Part 2 (5-8) on February 26.