When season 1 of Bridgerton came out on Netflix in December 2020, most fans tuned in for Regé-Jean Page, 31, who played Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. The actor definitely won the hearts of viewers, as much as his character did Daphne Bridgerton played by Phoebe Dynevor, 26. Unfortunately, fans wouldn't be seeing the actor in the upcoming season 2 of the hit series. As written in the books by Julia Quinn, the next season which is based on The Viscount Who Loved Me will no longer focus on Simon and Phoebe.
That, not the SAG nominee's exit, is the real reason Dynevor will get less screen time this upcoming season. As for Page, he's leaving because he's been tapped to play bigger roles. He's set to appear on the Netflix flick, The Gray Man with Chris Evans, 40, Ryan Gosling, 40, and Ana de Armas, 33. But recently, Bridgerton showrunner Shonda Rhimes, 51, revealed that she once asked Page to return. She said he "rightfully" turned it down. Here's his explanation.
How Regé-Jean Page Turned Down Shonda Rhimes' Offer
"Rightfully, he said, 'I signed up to do this one lovely story, this closed-ended storyline. I’m good!'" Rhimes told Variety of Page's response when she offered him to stay for season 2. "And I don’t blame him for that. I think that he was really smart to leave the perfection as the perfection." The Grey's Anatomy creator added that it wouldn't "make any sense" if the actor would "stand around in the background" when he's now "an enormous star."
If Page had said yes to Rhimes' offer, he would reprise his role for three to five episodes. He would be paid $50,000 per installment. Talking to Variety in May 2021, the actor said he wasn't nervous in announcing his exit "because that's what was meant." He added that he didn't want to drag the plot and take away its happy ending. "Simon was this bomb of a one-season antagonist, to be reformed and to find his true self through Daphne," he explained. "I think one of the bravest things about the romance genre is allowing people a happy ending."
Regé-Jean Page Originally Signed Up For Just 1 Season
Page really signed up for just one season. "It's a one-season arc. It's going to have a beginning, middle, end," he said. "[I thought] 'That's interesting,' because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on." Rhimes added that the actor "was just doing what his character was written to do—ride off, alive, into his happily ever after."
The For the People star also admitted that it wasn't easy leaving the show. "You're afraid of the unknown, thinking, 'Oh, my God, I'm never going to make friends as good as the ones I have,' and then you do," he shared. Talking about what's next for him, he teased: "I want everything I do to be as sexy as Bridgerton, just in different ways." Fans will just have to wait and see.
Everything We Know About Regé-Jean Page's Upcoming Projects
Aside from The Gray Man, Page is set to star in the 2023 Dungeons & Dragons reboot where he'll work alongside Chris Pine, 41, Michelle Rodriguez, 43, Justice Smith, 26, Hugh Grant, 61, and Sophia Lillis, 19. He was also cast in another reboot, The Saint. He'll play Simon Templar aka "The Saint," formerly played by the late James Bond actor Roger Moore, 89, in the 1962 TV series and by Val Kilmer in the 1997 movie. You can say Page is really expanding his range, and we're here for it.
"The thing that has appealed to me most about this career is getting to encounter and interact with the unexpected," the actor said of his career's future. "There’s so many different directions that you can take this job. It’s not so much about picking one and knowing where I want to go, it’s about knowing that there are other ways that I can do this, and continuing to explore that."
He also said that filming The Gray Man had been a great experience for him. "It’s been incredible," he said. "It’s just so much fun when you’re working with folks who are not just at the top of their game, but reinventing the game. It’s like a whole new machine." The film had already wrapped shooting in Los Angeles and is set to premiere in 2022. Page had also finished shooting Dungeons & Dragons back in August 2021.