-My next guest is known to millions of people
as the Duke of Hastings in the giant new show "Bridgerton,"
which is streaming right now on Netflix.
Here is Regé-Jean Page.
-Hey. Hi. How you doing?
-Thanks so much for coming on the show.
It is great to meet you.
We have a lot to talk about.
-You're welcome. Thank you. Yeah.
-A lot of people now know you from "Bridgerton."
But you've been acting since you were a kid.
We have an old head shot here that you posted.
Look at that. Look at that guy.
"I was in the height of too-damn-muchery as a kid."
-Yeah. Well, I mean, that's not even a caption or a witticism.
That is a statement of fact. Look at his face.
That is the definition of "too-damn-muchery."
If there was a picture in the dictionary, he'd be there.
He's my hero. I love that guy.
-Well, buddy, look at you now, man.
The Internet has decided that you are a front-runner
to be the next James Bond.
They all want it to happen.
I want this to happen.
The betting odds right now are at 5 to 1.
I'm gonna give you the stage here.
Is there anything you want to tell us tonight?
-I think the Internet thinks a lot of things,
and that's one of the more pleasant ones,
so I can be pleased as far as that goes.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-But, no, I think there might be an element
of, like, cultural translation to be done here.
Like, if you're a Brit and you do something
of any kind of renown that people regard well,
then people start saying the B-word.
You know, it's like a merit badge.
You get the B-word merit badge.
But I don't think it's much more than that.
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. [ Laughs ]
-Well, dude, I would say -- I would think you'd be fantastic.
I want to talk about "Bridgerton."
-Thank you very much. -It premiered on Christmas.
And so everyone was at home.
And everyone in the world watched it, and it exploded.
It is at the peak of pop culture.
How would you describe this show
to people who have not seen it yet?
-Ooh. It's kind of like Jane Austen meets "Gossip Girl"
with, like, "35 Shades of Grey," you know?
It's --
-Yeah, that's a perfect description.
That's a perfect --
Things do get a little steamy in the show, to say the --
-Yeah, a tad, a touch.
-Did you feel like you had to give your family a heads-up?
-Yeah, I mean, to be fair, at this point,
you can't really faze my family.
If you come up through theater, like, they see stuff,
and they kind of don't even blink anymore.
But there are warnings.
Like, the family WhatsApp group has, like, red flashing lights.
It's like, "Ep 5 -- boop, boop, boop, boop!"
-Yeah, okay, very good.
-But you don't tend to reach everyone sometimes.
We missed one of my cousins, and she sent me a message just like,
"I had to make so many tactical cups of tea during the show."
-"Okay, I can't. Okay."
Making tea.
-But she's like, "And then I come back,
and you were still going,
so I'd have to go back and put the kettle back on."
And so, like, my family are very, very stimulated
and caffeinated at this point,
which sounds like a deadly combination.
-That is so fun.
I mean, it must be fun to shoot that show.
I mean, a lot of work.
I will say, the dancing is fantastic.
-Thank you so much. We worked very hard on it.
-You did, right? I could tell.
Like, it's tricky stuff, but you do it like you've done it --
I mean, did you get coached? -100,000 times in rehearsal,
that's how we do it.
Like, we rehearsed it till we dropped.
We spent endless, endless hours in dance rehearsals.
Neither Phoebe nor I are like championship dancers.
But we're also surrounded by professional dancers.
-Yeah.
-So I think we were both a bit shaken.
And we'd, like, even call each other up, and you're like,
"Hey, I know we rehearsed all week,
but are you free on Saturday to rehearse the dance some more?"
And then we did.
Also, they show off. Dancers aren't shy.
Like, Chris Van Dusen, the showrunner,
would, like, throw Rihanna on on set
just to, like, loosen up the energy,
and they'd all start throwing down like professional dancers,
and then we'd go back into, like, the classical dance.
-Yep, I've seen that, too. -And you're like, "Oh, wow.
I got to compete with that."
-You also -- I heard you somewhere
talking about working with the horses
and that that's been a whole different experience.
-Well, I mean, horses are the biggest divas on set.
If anyone ever tells you otherwise, don't believe them.
-You know, like, the animals and kids thing?
It's particularly horses, 'cause they're, like,
incredibly intelligent children with the power of a horse.
So, like, you can't say the word "A-C-T-I-O-N"
on set around a horse because they know what it means.
And so if someone just, like, blithely yells "Action,"
the horse will run.
It will just, like, sprint off down high street and Bath.
mow down 10 grannies,
and the insurance company shut us all down.
-But I saw some pictures somewhere, too --
'cause obviously you can't do the whole --
these carriage rides, if you have to do it scene by scene,
you wouldn't do it with the horse.
so it's on green screen, and there's like crew and guys --
There it is right there. -Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
-Shaking the carriage. -That's the movie magic.
It's like when we're on green screen,
there's no horses in the studio.
It's just like a couple of set PAs and a grip
and someone from the camera crew who's drawn the short straw,
just like whoever's free.
It's like being in theater. It's all hands on deck.
It's like, "Yo, who wants to be a horse right now?
We need to shake the carriage."
So like your mate Pete and a couple of guys come over
and just start shoving it.
They're like, "Shove it more. They're going faster."
So they shove it harder, and you're, like,
having a deep romantic moment with the love of your life,
and Pete's just like [imitates horse snort]
to try to put you off.
-[ Laughs ]
They're making horse sound effects, too?
-Oh, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
Like, it's a naughty crew, but also it's just very generous.
It's that thing that Brits do.
Like, there were hundreds of people that worked so hard
to make this thing happen, and that is very apt.
It's very much a big team effort,
so it's not a bad memory to have.
-No. Well, congrats on all the success.
I want to show everyone a clip.
Here's Regé-Jean Page in "Bridgerton."
Take a look.
-I am afraid we are required to fan the flames of our charade.
-Ah, because of Lord Berbrooke, I presume.
I heard.
-We must make him believe
that you are on the very precipice of proposal
so that he will leave me alone.
-I should hope I do not lose my balance, then.
-I should hope not, either.
You will be glued to my side all evening.
And we must look like we are enjoying ourselves,
as difficult as that may be.
-Yes. Quite.
[ Up-tempo music playing ]
♪♪
-Regé-Jean Page. I love saying the name.
"Bridgerton" is streaming now on Netflix.
Thank you so much for being here, buddy.