After having his heart broken in Season 1, Colin returned from his travels to Greece at the start of Season 2 while still holding onto some cloudy judgment when it comes to his own love life. While he was away, his close friend Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) was a faithful correspondent, out-scribing even his own family members while channeling her affections for him onto the written page. Colin’s downfall is (as viewers can see!) that he appears to not see what is clearly in front of his face—that Penelope is in love with him. As for Newton, best known for his role in the Disney Channel’s TV series The Lodge, he exclusively tells Parade that it should be apparent to Colin what his perfect love match should be—but sometimes, love is quite blind. “I think there’s not a person that’s seen the show that wouldn’t want them to end up together… inevitably,” Newton says. “I like to think of them as the Ross and Rachel of Bridgerton. It’s just not happening at the right time for both of them. Sometimes, I do want to just shake Colin and say, ‘Wake up and see what’s right in front of you.’” Keep reading for more from our interview with Bridgerton actor Luke Newton, including a behind-the-scenes peek at life in Bridgerton and why Penelope and Colin are missing the mark.
Where do you think Penelope and Colin are going? Do you want them to wind up together?
I think what’s really nice is the longevity of their relationship and the growth. And there are relationships like that. There are relationships that are like the Duke and Daphne that have the fiery and intense sort of burning for each other. And there are relationships like Anthony Bridgerton and [new character] Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) where they’re completely at each other’s throats the entire time but there’s that tension there the entire time. And then we’ve got the complete other spectrum which is Colin and Penelope, which are almost the slow burners of the show where they’re gradually just slowly, slowly falling in love. Hopefully, we’ll see.
When you are filming the show, do you ever feel like you’re at a real society ball?
Absolutely! That’s what’s amazing about the sets, is they’re 360 sets. There’s nothing, there’s no green screen, there’s no black wall at the back. There are just 360 dimensions on the set and it’s incredible to be there. And in terms of costumes, one of my favorite parts is going to fitting. I go there, and you’d think if I’m trying on a new waistcoat, I’d just put the waistcoat on. But actually, I dress head-to-toe in a full Colin outfit. It feels amazing. It just really puts you in the character, like it does half of your job for you. It just puts you there at that time feeling exactly how these characters feel. Even in terms of when it’s slightly uncomfortable, it’s like yeah that’s exactly how they would feel. It’s great like it puts you right there.
What are the most challenging aspects of this role?
I guess the most challenging is difficult because I absolutely love this job. I guess it’s, what would be the hardest thing? I guess it’s like the story arcs are jumping back and forth because we film over such a long time. I think it was six to eight months we filmed in the end, particularly throughout COVID-19 it was difficult. So, jumping back and forth episodes for me was quite difficult. I’d have moments where particularly because of my journey as Colin is quite kind of a slow burner this year. His growth is minimal but in like it goes all the way along. So yeah, that was quite challenging to go, at what point is he right now? Is he riddled with guilt or does he feel a bit more content after meeting him? Yeah, it was kind of like that scale of emotion, trying to bleed that through in the whole season was probably my most challenging thing.
Do aspects of Colin and his mannerisms or anything spill over into your life?
I think so. I’d love to have his posture. I think that’s great, like being able to stand up that straight and look really proud and respectable. Yeah, and I think what I love just about being an actor, in general, is being able to explore these characters and find traits and things that I want to instill in myself.
Was dancing one of them?
Yes. I’ve always danced from a really young age. I trained in musical theater as well, so I’ve always danced. So going to rehearsal is one of my favorite times because I feel quite comfortable there. And Jack Murphy, our choreographer, is brilliant and very supportive, and he knows my strengths and weaknesses. He knows actually that for me it’s better to be in costume because if I’m taken out of costume, I make it more contemporary and more modern because of the training I’ve previously had. So, I think it’s amazing working with such a great team, and dance is definitely one of those that I’ve really enjoyed learning completely new styles that I’ve not even touched on despite dancing from the age of three I think was my first lesson, so yeah.
There are a lot of themes in this series: duty, honor, love, passion, family, friendship, courtship. Are there some that you personally identify with?
Absolutely. I’m very close with my family, particularly my sister. We’ve always been very close, and actually, I think it really helps. And that feels like something that I couldn’t have learned within my training or within any other job, it’s just something that I coincidently have in me, is the good relationships with my family. I’m really lucky that Colin has that because there are particular sibling relationships within the Bridgerton family that are quite difficult and clash. Even when it comes to his sister Eloise where they still very much care for each other but they very much clash in opinion.
What should my readers look forward to in Season 2?
I suppose personally from my character, my character’s inevitable love story is unrequited love. I think it’s a universal thing that everyone has experienced to some extent in their life. And it’s still very much, it’s happening now. So that’s just on a personal level. But also I think I’m a massive fan of the show itself, but Season 2 just really has hit me emotionally. I think it deals with grief; it deals with the loss of a loved one. We jump back into the past during Season 2 and for me, that’s some of the most poignant moments. Seeing why these characters are the way that they are is really special and it explains a lot actually. It explains a lot from Season 1 that you may be confused by. And now you see it and you go, that totally makes sense, that’s exactly why their relationship is that way. Seasons 1 and 2 of Bridgeton are streaming on Netflix. For more Bridgerton, check out, Alert the Ton—Season 2 of Bridgerton Is Here! Get the Scoop on Cast Changes, Spoilers and More
