5 things you need to know about Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page, more commonly known as the Duke of Hastings!
If the name Regé-Jean Page does not ring a bell, then let me introduce you to your new Internet boyfriend. The 31-year-old actor plays Simon Basset, or the Duke of Hastings, in Shondaland’s steamy new Regency-era drama Bridgerton. The star has stolen the hearts of fans everywhere and has quickly become the world’s latest heartthrob. Here are 5 things to know about our new favorite duke.
1) Page is British and Zimbabwean.
Regé-Jean Page was born in London but spent his childhood in Harare, Zimbabwe. In a 2016 interview with Interview Magazine, the actor stated, “We were in Zimbabwe [until I was 14]. But throughout that period, my family was rather spread out—I have family in South Africa, Australia, Sweden, Grenada, and Florida—so you make pit stops, and you grow your perspective. Home is a relative concept. Home is very much wherever it is that your people are and where you fit in.”
Page attributes his cosmopolitan perspective to growing up in Africa. He told Interview Magazine, “They [people in LA, London, and New York] think they’re the center of the universe, and they kind of are. Growing up outside of that, growing up in Sub-Saharan Africa, you watch these important people making important decisions. They send ripples out to the rest of the world and you ride the ripples.”
However, Page returned to England for high school and has talked about the difficulties that he faced during that time, sharing that “it’s very hard to craft an identity in that environment as a young, mixed raced man.”
2) Page was in a punk-rock band when he was a teenager.
Like his character, Page had some rebellious tendencies growing up. He told The Fall Mag that he was a part of a punk-rock band with his little brother. The actor shared, “As a teenager, the idea of running around, screaming at people was very appealing to me. I found comfort in aggression, in breaking through false walls and challenging norms.” However, unlike Page, the duke took much longer to outgrow his angsty-teen phase.
3) Page has starred in another Shonda Rhimes series.
This is the actor’s second Shondaland series. He starred in the now-canceled 2018 legal drama For the People for both of its seasons. Page played Leonard Knox, a new Assistant US Attorney at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
When talking about Shondaland, Page told Seventeen Magazine that “It feels like I’ve never left. There’s a very strong in-house style. I kind of got to act as a bit of a bridge between the two worlds [those just joining and those who have worked with this company before], telling everyone, ‘Now the way that this happens is basically read everything at double pace, and you’ll be right at home.’”
4) Page is rumored to be the next James Bond.
There are rumors floating around that Page is set to play the leading role in the hit franchise James Bond. Page has responded to the speculation telling Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, “The internet thinks a lot of things, and that’s one of the more pleasant ones.” He considers the speculation to be a “merit badge,” stating, “You get the B-word merit badge…I’m very, very glad to have the badge. I’m glad to be in such wonderful company of people who have the badge. But it’s a badge.”
Well, we, along with the rest of the Internet, certainly want to see Page as the next 007. For now, we can only hope that the franchise’s casting director feels the same.
5) Page is rumored to be dating his Bridgerton on-screen lover.
As with any on-screen romance, the Internet is speculating whether or not Page and his castmate and Bridgerton wife Phoebe Dynevor are dating in real life. The actor has commented on the romance rumors telling Access Hollywood, “I think everything you need to know is on camera. That’s why we presented it so beautifully for you. All the sparks that flew off of the beautiful scripts that we were handed, and so I think that the sparky scripted material are more than enough.”
While that is not a no, it is also not a yes. For now, we, along with the rest of the Internet, will have to settle for their characters’ on-screen romance.
Page’s fame is rapidly growing, and it seems like his career is only going up from here. Lucky for us, that means we will be seeing a lot more of the Bridgerton star in the future!
