There were quite a few memorable dancing scenes throughout the show, especially because much of the show was set during the balls and dances held for the debutantes finding their perfect match. Because of all of this dancing, the actors had to learn how to perform those classic dances. Of course, most of them didn’t know how to dance like this before they started prepping.
While the dances were classic, the choreographers did add some modern twists—because the people of this time period were obviously not dancing to Ariana Grande. The long hours spent in dancing class also helped Phoebe Dynevor, who played Daphne, and Regé-Jean Page, who played Simon, get very familiar and comfortable with each other (which paid off in the intense chemistry they portrayed on-screen).
We’ve all been there… that awkward moment where you’re watching TV with your family and there’s a scene that’s a little too spicy. Like all decent people, we blush, fast forward, or stare at the ground until the elephant in the room has left! Well, what if you’re the actress acting out the salacious scene?
Well, that’s the predicament that poor Phoebe Dynevor found herself in! Like all supportive friends and family, her people wanted to watch her act in one of the most successful Netflix series of the year, but there are some things your family and friends just don’t need to see. That’s why she held the remote in her hand to fast forward through those eyebrow raising scenes.
Because this story was largely about the upper class in early 19th century England, then it was mandatory that the actors attend extensive etiquette training to properly portray their characters. Daphne and the other debutantes would have had to train their entire lives to prepare themselves for their season in the marriage market, as well as to behave well in a society with so many strict, unspoken rules.
It was only natural that the actors had to have a six-week intensive crash course so they could walk, talk, behave, and think like the characters who would have spent their lives learning these skills and rules. The cast has reported being shocked when they first received their itineraries for preparing for shooting.
The style of boxing the duke did in the show was very different from modern boxing, so Regé-Jean Page had to learn how to box the old-fashioned way to both be historically accurate and to stay fit since he definitely showed a lot of skin during the show.
At this time period in England boxers didn’t wear gloves,and there were other rules that they had to follow as well that were very different from what you would see on ESPN today. Boxing played a surprisingly large role in the show’s development, so it would have been off-putting if the producers didn’t do proper research into the history of boxing.
The key to a stunning performance between co-stars is… well, chemistry! You know that little spark feeling that you get when you meet someone that you just click with? While filming Bridgerton co-stars were instructed to spend time with each other in the way their characters would in their story.
Several of the cast members shared their experiences on set, and they said being there and filming felt like being around old friends. Old like, Victorian era old? Probably more like star-crossed lovers. Either way, the cast ended up developing real friendships and experiences on and off set that carried their performances on-screen.
The cast of Bridgerton had to be serious in a lot of the scenes, but as we all know, the times when you have to try to be the most serious are the times you are most likely to burst into laughter, i.e. being a little kid sitting in church.
However, even for these professional actors, there were scenes that were really hard for them to control their laughter, especially the ones in the fake carriages where they had to try really hard to be serious as they sat in a fake carriage in front of a green screen while crew members shook the carriage and made horse noises.
One of the perks of working on a popular show is knowing what will happen in the next season—or even if there will be a next season—before everyone else. However, the cast had to keep things under wraps and couldn’t reveal what was going to happen before the show aired and everyone had gotten a chance to watch.
Even though this Netflix series is based on a series of books that have been out for years already, the show does change up a couple of details, both major and minor, so even the biggest fans of the Julia Quinn books won’t be able to predict exactly what will happen next.
One of the main things Bridgerton fans found shocking was the fact that the cast had to undergo extensive intimacy training for the steamy scenes in the show. The cast has said that they rehearsed these scenes with an Intimacy Coordinator who helped them choreograph every move, almost like a fight scene.
This training was very helpful because once they actually got down to filming, everything looked as natural as possible while having everyone involved be as comfortable as possible. The concept sounds strange at first but is actually really smart because it allows the actors to have control and consent in a very vulnerable scene, while making the end product the best it could be.
In addition to Intimacy coaching for the physically intimate scenes of the show, the cast members were required to remain respectful of each other’s personal space and comfort. Imagine getting all up close and personal with a coworker, it’d be a little awkward and in most cases grounds for you to pack your bags.
So, this precise reason is why it was imperative for co-stars to understand and communicate their comfort levels during physical moments during filming. It’s encouraging to see this type of careful consideration around the comfort of the actors while they’re being so vulnerable in delivering these scenes. It seems like progress.
For the actors to properly get into their characters, they had to do some reading. Not only did they have to read up on history, but they also had to read the books that inspired the show in the first place to see where the show creators were coming from.
Some of the actors even took it a step further and read up on fan sites and Reddit threads to see what fans of the books would be looking for from their characters; not just how they thought the characters should be portrayed or what the books or director said about their characters.
Not everyone has ridden a horse before, let alone has had the proper training that aristocrats in 19th century England had. Because several scenes were shot on horseback, the actors had to take horseback riding lessons in order to thoroughly portray their characters, who historically would have been professionals at riding horses.
If you aren’t familiar with the world of horseback riding, then you might not know just how specific it really is as well as all of the different styles of riding. In this aristocratic society, the women would have been expected to ride the horse one way while men had to ride it another way, and both are completely different than the way you rode horses at summer camp.
On the long list of to-dos the cast had to go through several weeks before they could even get in front of the camera—and one of the most excruciating—was costume fittings. While today we love convenience and comfortability in fashion like a simple t-shirt and jeans, the fashions they wore in the early 1800s in aristocratic England were far from convenient and comfortable.
This meant the cast had to go through hours of costume fittings in very uncomfortable costumes to get it right. Then when they actually filmed, they had to wear those uncomfortable outfits for hours, often with costume changes. The wigs alone that some of the characters had to wear were very heavy and took hours to properly put on.
Not only were there historians on set to help everyone out so everything could be as historically accurate as possible, but the actors also had to learn a lot about the history of this time period themselves so they could really immerse themselves into their roles and the Bridgerton world they helped make come alive.
Character study is very important for actors, even if they aren’t portraying real people. Phoebe Dynevor, who played Daphne, would have had to understand as fully as she could what types of pressures someone of Daphne’s status would have to be under in society to properly be able to portray the emotions Daphne would have felt.
Unfortunately, most shows and movies that portray this era in time don’t provide diversity and inclusion in their casting. Bridgerton wanted to break the mold and do things its own way. The show specifically made place in the world of debutants and high society for people of all backgrounds to enjoy.
This unique angle on diversity is one of the many great things that sets the show apart from other pieces of the same time. The cast were also encouraged to uphold these same values while filming on set. With careful consideration, the production team crafted a working culture that was translated to what we saw on screen.
A lot of the filming locations were actually real places that families have lived, or even that Queen Elizabeth herself frequents, so the actors and everyone else on set had to be very careful with how they interacted in the space. The duke’s castle, for example, is a real place where a family currently lives, and they graciously let them film there.
However, many of the scenes that were filmed in the duke’s castle were those steamy honeymoon scenes, and the actual house staff of that castle had to carefully keep a watchful eye on the set to make sure nobody messed up any of the furniture, walls, stairs, or anything else.
Sabrina Bartlett, who played the opera singer Siena Rosso, actually sang during her parts in all of her singing scenes on the show. The catch is that she didn’t know how to sing opera before shooting the show and took lessons specifically for this role. However, the vocals you hear are actually from the professional opera singer Rowan Pierce.
Even though we don’t hear Bartlett’s voice on the final copy of the show, she still had to learn how to sing opera to make the lip syncing thoroughly believable. If you search on YouTube, you can even find Bartlett’s rehearsal tapes—and she's actually very good at it!
If you didn’t know, Bridgerton is based off of a successful romance novel series under the same name. Written by author Julia Quinn, the series follows the characters we’ve all gotten to know (most very, very, well.) throughout Shonda Rhimes adaptation for Netflix. The book series was well received by people interested in romance novels, and with nine books, there’s no shortage of character exposition.
Beyond the books, fans of the series took to the internet to discuss the in’s and out’s of the character's perspectives and narratives. Many of the cast members were intimidated to fill the shoes of the larger than life characters that fans had taken to so fondly. In preparation, many read the forums discussing these characters to better understand the depth of their personalities.
Choreography, no matter the style, can be challenging for all levels of dancer. Furthermore, reciting choreography just to meet your mark doesn’t translate well on stage or on the big screen. Every choreographer knows that no matter the performance high-energy is needed to translate the emotions and ambience through the music.
The cast of Bridgerton were instructed by their professional choreographers to dance routinely to high-energy music like Beyonce and Rihanna! The idea was that learning these moves would help carry the energy through to their dance routines filmed for the show. They must have done something right because the dancing was spot on.
We’ve all been drooling over the over-the-top costumes but let’s take a minute to take our hats off to these outrageous wigs! Not that we would expect any normal person to spend any amount of time wearing twenty five pounds of hair, but if you did you would know that overtime it gets a bit heavy.
The cast of Bridgerton had to spend lots of time living in their hair, costumes, and makeup. For the era, wigs like these were commonplace in high society, so the pain they felt from supporting these outrageous hairdos was well… authentic! Here nor there, a common complaint amongst the cast was the wigs they had to wear all day, every day.
Just like the old days, learning the in’s and out’s of etiquette requires time, training, and concentration. There were several “Victorian” rules around how people in high society talked and acted around each other. So, to accurately display the rules of the time, the cast had to submit to a grueling six-week bootcamp for debutant training.
Phoebe Dynevor shared her experience during debutant training, and she said her, and the rest of the cast drastically underestimated the amount of concentration it would take to follow and understand all of the rules that went into being a debutant. So, next time you’re wondering if that rule is real, just know it is.
Most, if not all, of the actors and extras in the show were British, so they didn’t have to train to speak with a British accent; but they did have to learn how to speak in a historically accurate dialect for their character. For example, Phoebe Dynevor, who played Daphne, and Regé-Jean Page, who played Simon, had to learn how to speak like a duke and duchess of this time period, even when things got emotional.
This is why several of the cast members sound so different in interviews than thay do on the show, even though they still have similar accents. They speak in real life with modern dialects that represent where they are from, so of course their accents would be different if they were born in a different region two hundred years ago.
Having a contract with Netflix is no laughing matter, so the cast of the show must consistently bring their A-game when delivering those lines. With the massive budget poured into the production and set of this show, it’s understandable that producers and executives would desire top-notch acting from their stars.
Nevertheless, it was immense pressure on the cast to always deliver stellar performances. A specifically challenging point of stress for the cast was remaining in the dialect spoken by the characters in Bridgerton. One mispronounced vowel, and we’re completely ripped from the mood the scene had been building.
Phoebe Dynevor actually had to take piano lessons during training for the show. There are a couple of scenes that show her playing the piano, and in those scenes she is actually playing the piano. This was also part of her immersion into the world of a debutante and exposure to how Daphne’s life would have been if she was a real person from this period of time.
Women in the upper class were expected to be well-versed in many areas of study, and a very important area of study was usually the piano. Even though Bridgerton wasn’t meant to be completely historically accurate, it was important for the show to include this piece of history and for the actress to portray it accurately. (If you want to learn more about what was historical fact or fiction in Bridgerton, check out Historical Accuracies and Inaccuracies in Bridgerton.)
This one may seem a little on the nose but come on. Every actor, everywhere must practice their lines before waltzing on set in front of their castmates. The cast of Bridgerton was asked to practice not only their lines, but also their characters. As in, take the personalities of the characters for a spin and find the depth of their stories.
It makes sense to take the performance a step further. Role playing like this helps the actors better understand how their character would interact in situations, even when there isn’t a script. It’s been known to lead to off-script performances that better speak to the integrity of the character’s story.
Most Netflix shows last around six or seven seasons. So, the cast members of Bridgerton will need to be prepared to turn down offers for other opportunities while the show is filming. Unless they can squeeze in a role in between filming, it’s just not feasible for the actors to be fully immersed in their characters while also rehearsing for another.
The cast will need to commit to as long as Netflix keeps the show running unless they can negotiate a character kill-off which would obviously be a drastic alteration to the show’s narrative. Since the show has done so well so far, we wouldn’t suspect the cast is going anywhere anytime soon.
No one likes spoilers, and that’s why the cast was required to keep plans for season two of the show under wraps. Because season one was so well received, everyone has been holding their breath for what’s to happen next in the series. We’ve gotten to know these characters and their spectacular stories, and we want more.
With all the attention the show has received, it’s easy to imagine that people are prying over the details of the production company’s next move. In situations like this, riding the enthusiasm and excitement of the show’s fans is crucial to the survival of the series long term. So, hopefully the cast can keep a secret! And we can too—no spoilers here!
The Sharmas’ dog on the show, Newton, is an adorable Corgi who works for treats. And giving him his treats was integral to doing scenes with him. The dog serves as a plot device for the story, while reacting to characters in a manner that mirrors Kate’s own impressions of people.
Many actors can be picky when things aren’t going their way on the set and this dog was no exception as he would become belligerent when it was time for more treats. Luke Newton, who plays Colin Bridgerton, told Shondaland that the dog would continue barking excessively until someone gave him a few bits of sausage. No food, no pay.
The Pall Mall game is one scene that is integral to both the series and book as it showcases the sibling rivalry and competitive nature of the family, as well as develops the relationship between Anthony and Kate. The problem, however, when it came to filming this scene was that nobody knew the rules of the game.
Because of this, it was necessary that the cast be able to act like they knew what they were doing. Therefore, some quality improvisation was required on their part. While they might not have known the rules, they got into the spirit of the game by having a bit of fun with it and playing in a manner that they thought to be correct. And they still don’t know the rules.
COVID restrictions have affected the filming of many shows over the past couple of years and this was the case when it came to the filming of Bridgerton season 2. In July 2021, production had to halt for 24 hours when a crew member tested positive for COVID. Luckily, no cast members had been exposed, which would have delayed production even further.
Production did go on hiatus due to additional COVID cases. Then on August 3rd, 2021, showrunner Chris Van Dusen told Variety that production had resumed. At the time, he was in the post-production editing process. Hopefully, season 3 continues filming without a hitch or we could see a delay in that season!
While most of the actors in the show’s first season had to work on some kind of accent, it was Nicola Coughlan that still had quite a bit of work to do when it came to her Irish accent. The ironic part is that the actress is already from Galway, Ireland.
Together, she and her dialect coach created a story as to how her character Penelope developed her accent. The story is that she picked up her accent from someone that was kind to her, so rather than her family, she likely got it from someone like a servant, as it would be common for someone from London to have an Irish servant.
