Luke Thompson: the secrets of a Bridgerton in French in the text

He speaks impeccable French. Normal: Luke Thompson grew up in France and maintains an intimate link with our country. As he moves to the forefront of The Bridgerton Chronicles, for season 4, he confides in a long interview with Première. Meeting in the language of Molière.

FIRST How come you speak French so well?
Luke Thomson: (Speaking in French) I grew up in France, actually. My parents are English, but I moved to France when I was two years old. So I spent my childhood and adolescence in France, I did my baccalaureate there. At 19, I returned to England. But French is a language, and a culture, which are really part of me, and which are really close to my heart. It’s quite moving to be able to present something in France like that.

Having “your own season” of Bridgerton is obviously exciting. Was it long waiting for your turn?
Yes, a little bit. But that’s also the pleasure of a series: being able to spend several years in the shoes of a character. I had three seasons to get used to the camera, I who come more from the world of theater, and three seasons to get used to the rather particular universe of Bridgerton. So it’s not bad like that. I’m hitting my prime in season 4 with Benedict. The big advantage is that this character is already well known to fans. We saw it evolve. We’ve only seen one side of him so far: his charming and caring side. But it’s nice to be able to dig under the veneer, to delve deeper into things… to see what’s going on behind the mask.

Did you read the volume “An Offer from a Gentleman” (published in 2001) in advance to know what was going to happen to you?
I had already read the novel when I was cast as Benedict five or six years ago. And I reread it, obviously, recently, to prepare a little more for this season 4. Afterwards, the series uses the novel as source material, but it does not hesitate to stretch… and go further. The TV series is definitely something different from the books. It has its roots in novels, but it is much more than that: it has its own, very particular universe.

And have you read the rest?
I haven’t read the other novels, so I don’t know exactly where Benedict is going, but that’s good: going out to explore a little… not knowing everything either. Especially since Benedict’s character is really more developed than in the novels.

Season 3 showed Benedict in this very memorable scene with Tilley and Paul. In your opinion, how does this experience act as a trigger for his evolution in season 4?
It’s true that this scene was striking. But for me, it’s especially the scene that follows, when he tells Lady Tilley that he’s not ready for anything serious. This scene contains the germ of the character’s intrinsic problem: Benedict is someone who is a little in love with his own freedom. He is a very curious man, who always wants to discover new things. He likes to indulge in discovery. That’s great… but there comes a point in life where it becomes a way to avoid something deeper. It’s true that he has a lot of trouble getting involved in anything serious.

Conversely, we can never put a label on it?
Benedict is often said to be pansexual. It’s interesting, because I don’t know if that’s exactly the right term – or let’s say: it’s a modern way of describing it. We tend to find male sexuality a bit rigid: either we are this or we are that. What’s refreshing about Benedict is that it’s not about identity for him. Sexuality is not something that determines one’s identity. To the point where sex has almost become a mysterious force, which prevents it from really establishing itself in life. He ends up settling down with Sophie, but it could very well have been a man, deep down…

Tell us about your first meeting with Yerin Ha (Sophie)…
I didn’t know her at all. And it’s true that it’s obviously a somewhat special encounter. A real experience. There was a certain shyness when we first met. It was actually on Zoom. I was quite skeptical about seeing any chemistry via video conference. But immediately, we knew it was going to do it. Sophie is a very particular character: a combination of humor, emotion and seriousness. And, in truth, from my time as an actor, I know that it’s very much a question of the moment, about an audition. It’s not really a matter of “knowing how to play well” or not. It’s more about knowing if we are fair, in the moment. We felt, in this Zoom, that it was going to do it. It was an easy decision.

Jonathan Bailey and Regé-Jean Page saw their careers take off after Bridgerton. Are you thinking about it?
What interests me is always doing different things. Why not do a little French cinema? I would really like that. It’s true that a role like that, in a series like this, gives a lot of visibility…

Season 4 of The Bridgerton Chronicles is released in two parts: part 1 on January 29, then part 2 on February 26, on Netflix.