SNL is burning for Bridgerton’s dreamy Regé-Jean Page. The 31-year-old is hosting Saturday Night Live on Feb. 20 with musical guest Bad Bunny. The actor is making his SNL debut less than two months after the epic premiere of Bridgerton on Netflix.
Regé-Jean stars as the very handsome Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, in the Netflix series Bridgerton, which started streaming on Dec. 25. He recently earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. Get to know the Bridgerton breakout star with our 5 key facts.
1. ‘Bridgerton’ isn’t Regé-Jean’s first Shonda Rhimes show.
Before Bridgerton, Regé-Jean starred in the Shonda Rhimes-produced legal drama For The People. The series ran for two seasons on ABC. Soon after For The People ended, Regé-Jean nabbed the role of Simon in Bridgerton, whose love story with Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) is the focus of the first season. Bridgerton, based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling romance novel series, is one of the many projects Shonda is producing for Netflix. Shonda is one of the executive producers of Bridgerton. The series actually smashed Netflix viewership records after its Christmas Day debut. The streaming service revealed that over 63 million households had watched the show within the first 28 days.
Bridgerton has been renewed for season 2. The cast will begin filming in spring 2021. Regé-Jean is set to return for the second season, which will be based on Julia’s second book in her Bridgerton series, The Viscount Who Loved Me.
2. He spent his childhood in Zimbabwe.
Regé-Jean grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe. He moved to London at the age of 14. Through those early years, the actor traveled a lot. “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, Florida—so you make pit stops and you grow your perspective,” he told Interview magazine.
3. He’s taken!
Sorry, everyone, but Regé-Jean is not a single man. The actor is dating soccer player and copywriter Emily Brown. Regé-Jean and Emily were recently spotted in public sharing a sweet embrace on a sidewalk in London.
4. Regé-Jean’s breakthrough role was in the ‘Roots’ remake.
The actor starred as Chicken George in the 2016 History Channel miniseries. The role was Regé-Jean’s American TV debut, and he received critical praise for his performance. Before Bridgerton, he also starred in the British TV series Waterloo Road as Guy Braxton.
5. ‘Bridgerton’ isn’t his only major project.
In addition to Bridgerton, Regé-Jean also starred in the romance movie Sylvie’s Love as Chico Sweetney. The film was released on Dec. 23 via Amazon Prime Video. The actor appeared alongside Tessa Thompson. Regé-Jean is set to star in the upcoming movie adaptation of the famous game Dungeons & Dragons.
