by Actor Luke Thompson, 35, was born in Southampton, grew up in France and trained at Rada. He was nominated for two awards for his first professional role in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe. After 10 years in the theater, he appeared on the screen playing Benedict Bridgerton in the Netflix game Bridgerton, which will soon return for its third season. On stage, he was recently playing Willem i Little Lifeopposite James Norton, and is making his RSC debut as Berowne in A labor of love lost.
You recently won a WhatsOnStage award and it was nominated for Olivier for Little Life. Was that happy?
That experience is a beautiful cherry on the cake. It’s easy to have an opinion on awards when you’re not nominated but they really mean a lot. I’ve put a lot of time and thought into getting better at acting, so it’s really important to be recognized like that.
How was the reaction of the audience? There were reports of fainting.
God, yes, everything. There were weeks when he was mad. The craziest one was towards the end of the run. Someone was coughing very loudly during a quiet moment in the play and the show had to be stopped. It turned out that they would vomit projectiles in the dress circle, over other people, who then started retching too, so it was like a chain reaction. I sometimes wonder how much of it is self-perpetuating. The more people expect graphic content, the stronger they may react. Incidents of impairment have certainly increased after the panel.
It’s easier to learn lines when you’re on the move… I’ll be walking down the street and run into someone while miming full throttle
How was it working with James Norton?
Amazing. What I love about James is that he keeps it simple. I don’t know if it’s because of his experience on the screen but in the theatre, there’s a risk that you repeat a show over and over again that you start embellishing it and it becomes unrecognizable. Although James always wanted to trim the fat and get back to the heart.
We are speaking during a break in rehearsals for A labor of love lost. Are you excited for your RSC debut?
A really big deal. It’s also a great time to do it, when art directors have changed. It feels like a fresh page. It is a great honor to be the first production in the big theatre.
Director Emily Burns’ production is inspired by billionaire tech bros, right?
The play itself is very Elizabethan. We have tried to put it in a modern, more relatable context. It opens with a group of rich, powerful men who are very concerned about what to do with their time, what is real, what is honest, what is fake. We all live in that online world now. It’s also about self-improvement and how to deal with these horrible things [points at his mobile phone].
The play contains Shakespeare’s longest speech. How do you learn that?
As usual with Shakespeare, there are different versions floating around but yes, it’s in his mouth. Lines in these wonderful texts work like magic spells. You learn them, repeat them and it stirs things in you. So I mutter it to myself and see what happens. In a way it’s easier when I’m moving, but I have to be careful. I’ll be walking down the street and run into someone while reciting lines at full throttle. Then I’ll go quiet because it’s like being caught out.
There is an ongoing debate about West End ticket prices. Should the theater be more accessible?
Of course. It’s not just about accessibility, it’s about the role of theatre. I sometimes worry that it goes to the 0.05% of the population all the time but I still believe that the theater has a social function. It’s a bit like politics – everyone involved is from as many different backgrounds as possible. The theater should be the opposite of an echo chamber. It’s about coming together and sharing ideas. That is becoming increasingly rare these days. We are all stuck behind our screens, a little uncomfortable with the idea of proper debate and proper exchange.
Bridgerton Series three is about to happen. Where do we find your character Benedict?
Things come up in terms of trying to work out what he wants. When you are “the spare person”, you lack pressure. Benedict is fun, free and easy, but also paralyzed in his search for something more meaningful. He is a modern character in that way: I know many people who are trying to build meaning in their lives.
Is this series as sexy as ever?
Of course. Julia Quinn’s books are romance novels, so it would be a travesty not to explore that. It is a genre with its own codes. That’s what’s so delicious about the show. Sometimes it is dismissed as non-serious, but there may be some mischievousness. People love romance. There aren’t many of them around.
What is it like to see your naked back screen?
Quite strange. We don’t often get that perspective of ourselves. In a way, it’s good to keep track of these things.
A disabled character joins this series. Are you proud of it Bridgerton‘variety?
Very proud. It’s great to represent everyone on screen. There were disabled people around in those times. It also gives the lie to the authenticity police who regulate how period dramas are made. Especially in the UK – it happens with Shakespeare productions too – there is a whole army of people ready to claim that it is supposed to be like a museum piece. It’s often ruled by nostalgia for something that didn’t even exist. Bridgertonit’s not a documentary, it’s a drama. In drama, you can do whatever you want, Shakespeare wrote history plays that are completely historically inaccurate and nobody gives a shit about that. I guess partly because he is dead. But it’s a poetic reality and Bridgerton is no different.
What is it like learning Regency dance styles for ballroom scenes?
Great fun. I have to be careful with spoilers or I’ll get caught, but I do get a nice dance moment this season. It’s interesting when you understand these dances as basically a dating app. They give people a chance to talk, to touch, to be close – then they slide to the next row.
Luke Newton plays Colin Bridgerton. Does it ever get confusing with two brothers playing Lukes?
It’s okay because I’m usually called “Lukey T” and he’s “Newts”. Lukes acting is suddenly in full flow. Later in the RSC season, Luke Thallon is playing Hamlet. I grew up thinking I was the only Luke in the village but it’s back in fashion. We’re all pretty much the same age, so Luke’s moment must have been back in the late 80s/early 90s!
What do people usually come up and say when they recognize you?
It’s always a beautiful exchange. On the width of the people who are Bridgerton fans are heartwarming. Although someone asked: “Where are you from? Bridgerton?” I dodged the question for a bit, then she Googled “Bernard Bridgerton” on her phone, which made me laugh. Who’s Bernard? Someone else came up with a photo of Jonny Bailey [who plays Lord Anthony Bridgerton] and said: “This is you, isn’t it?” I was like: “Well, obviously not. We play brothers, sure, but we’re very different.” The funniest person was on a plane to New York recently with some of the Bridgerton full The air steward came up to Claudia [Jessie, who plays Eloise Bridgerton] and said: “Oh my god, you look like Eloise oh Bridgerton!” She pointed at me and said: “And doesn’t he look like the brother?” The air steward said: “Oh, I wish!” So apparently I’m shit in real life.
Which other actors do you admire?
I just saw American fiction and the whole cast was great but Sterling K Brown was especially great as the brother. It was just simple, warm, easy acting. It was also great to see Jeffrey Wright front and center for a change.
What theater have you enjoyed recently?
I would love Enemy of the people with Matt Smith and had the best time at Sunset Boulevard. It was so fun, sexy and exciting.
How to relax when you are not working?
I am a pianist. I have been playing since I was a kid and I made all the grades. Acting sometimes feels like you’re always deferring to others and have little control but the piano is completely yours. I can sit down, play classical stuff for two or three hours, and not notice the passage of time. I would be happy to include him in an acting job someday.
Do you have a dream role?
It’s a terrible cliche to say you want to play Hamlet, but most actors do. And I would love to play Iago, mainly because a casting director once told me: “You can’t play Iago because you’re too nice.” That’s such a misunderstanding of how evil works. It would be nice to explore something a little more unpleasant.
