Fans of Bridgerton are mourning the loss of their Duke of Hastings, played by Regé-Jean Page. Thankfully, those left brokenhearted over Page’s departure finally have closure.
The British-Zimbabwean actor, who burst into the spotlight by playing the brooding and devastatingly handsome duke, has explained why he exited the popular Shondaland series after one season.
Speaking with Variety, Page revealed the reason he agreed to play Simon in the first place was because the role was shopped to him as a one-season gig.
“It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end – give us a year,” the 31-year-old actor recalled. “[I thought] ‘That’s interesting,’ because then it felt like a limited series.”
Page added that while his role was indeed memorable, he didn’t want Simon’s arc to overshadow the real stars of the series — the Bridgerton family.
“I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on,” he remarked before explaining why he is satisfied with how Simon’s story came to an end.
“One of the things that is different about this [romance] genre is that the audience knows the arc completes,” Page detailed. “They come in knowing that, so you can tie people in emotional knots because they have that reassurance that we’re going to come out and we’re going to have the marriage and the baby.”
Fans learned in Bridgerton‘s first season that Simon was neglected by his father, who only cared about producing a worthy heir to continue the family line. The duke exacts revenge by swearing upon his father’s death bed that the family line will end with him.
Spoiler alert, after falling in love with Daphne, played by Phoebe Dynevor, he realizes his marriage is more important than revenge.
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