Bridgerton's Luke Thompson Revealed The Show's Secretive Audition Process

Bridgerton had viewers hooked on its Regency-era drama and steamy romance almost immediately upon its January 2021 release. The Shondaland-produced series topped Netflix’s charts in 76 countries and reached viewers in 82 million households within its first month on the streaming platform, and viewers have been waiting ever since for Season 2, set for a March 25 release. In a new interview with Daily Mail published on March 21, one of the series’ actors revealed the Bridgerton cast was required to fall in love with its scripts very quickly, as they only received one or two scenes during the audition process.

Luke Thompson, who plays Benedict Bridgerton on the hit series, told the publication he was only able to read two scenes before deciding whether or not to sign onto Bridgerton. “You only get like a scene or a couple of scenes... that’s all you get, well that's all I got to start with anyway,” the actor said of his experience. “You get such a strong flavor, and the two they gave me were the swing scenes in season one,” Thompson continued, referencing the sweet conversations Benedict shared with younger sister Eloise (played by Claudia Jessie) and reportedly letting out a laugh. “You always have to clarify what that is.”

Despite only receiving a mere snippet of the series before signing on — and potentially appearing in all eight proposed seasons as a result — Thompson knew he wanted to join Bridgerton from the jump. “It was just a couple of pages but I thought, ‘Oh wow, there’s such a strong, clear conversation between a brother and sister that feels like it's absolutely in the regency world but is also absolutely believable today,’” he recalled. “And so it was a no-brainer. You could almost read just that and think, ‘Yeah, I wanna do that.’”

Thompson’s preparation for Season 2 has consisted of much more than line-reading. Speaking to The Times of London in an interview published on March 18, the actor said he’s been working with a personal trainer to prepare his body “for the bum scenes, I guess... Well, just all those sort of scenes. You’re in a romance show, so it's part of the deal.” But don’t expect him to look as ripped as Regé-Jean Page in Season 1. “[Benedict is] someone who probably tries a bit but doesn't want to seem like he tries too hard, so I don't want to be a beefcake,” Thompson told the publication, per Insider. “But it’s worth it in terms of me feeling like it’s right in front of the camera.”