Bridgerton fans were in tears when it was announced that Regé-Jean Page was bowing out of the Netflix romantic drama ahead of its second season.
While there have been countless theories from fans about why an actor would leave such a lucrative project, Page believes that he signed up to do a job and completed it.
“I signed up to do a job and I did the job and then I did some other jobs. That’s it. That’s the story. I wish it was more glamorous than that,” he told Vanity Fair.
“We finished the story. The temptation would be to roll with the distractions and go, ‘Oh, well, the story went really well so we can kind of change this up and make some other stuff up, I guess.’ That was never what we’d signed up to do.”
“It’s overnight for everyone else, nothing changes for me,” Page shared with the outlet.
“When it’s tough, when no one wants you in the room, when you’ve got to fight to bust down the door-you do the work, you turn up.”
“It works or it doesn’t.”
“The trick is to make sure that you focus on your job as hard as you did when you were struggling to get to do your job.”
While plenty of viewers were shocked by Page’s departure, the beauty of the series is that it focuses on a new couple each season.
As a result, Page wouldn’t have had a significant role if he had returned for the second season.
“Dear Readers, while all eyes turn to Lord Anthony Bridgerton’s quest to find a Viscountess, we bid adieu to Regé-Jean Page, who so triumphantly played the Duke of Hastings,” reads a social media statement from the show in 2021.
“We’ll miss Simon’s presence on-screen, but he will always be a part of the Bridgerton family.
Page’s on-screen wife, Phoebe Dynevor, returned for the second season, and we got few updates about what became of his character.
However, Dynevor recently announced she would not return for the third season.
Page’s comments about exiting the show echo sentiments creatives made about the decision in the past.
The star will next be seen in the big-screen adaptation of Dungeons and Dragons, launching March 31, 2023, in the U.S.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.