Regé-Jean Page turned down $200K offer to appear in ‘Bridgerton’ season 2
The actor reportedly was offered a guest role for 3-5 episodes
According to a recent report, Regé-Jean Page turned down a significant pay raise when he decided to skip Bridgerton season 2.
As TheGrio reported on Monday, it looks like The Duke of Hastings will not return to grace our screens when Bridgerton returns for its highly anticipated second season. Page’s brooding leading man was a breakout character on the show, with many fans devouring Simon’s love story with Daphne Bridgerton, the eldest daughter in the Shondaland series.
Page’s absence from the upcoming second season was a blow to some fans, although his character is barely in the book, The Viscount Who Loved Me, that the second season will be based on.
Read More: Regé-Jean Page announces his departure from ‘Bridgerton’: ‘The love is real’
Now, according to recent reports, Page turned down a hefty amount to return to Bridgerton in a limited capacity. Sources close to The Hollywood Reporter told the magazine that Page was offered a guest star contract for the show’s second season, including three to five episodes, with a rate of $50,000 per episode. Per the magazine, Page declined the role “for a multitude of reasons,” as the actor is “laser focused on his burgeoning film career.”
The actor’s film career is certainly beginning to heat up. From the latest Dungeons and Dragons flick and the upcoming big-budget Netflix film, The Gray Man, Page has been nonstop since the series premiered in December.
Page recently spoke to Variety on his decision to skip out on the second season. Detailing his early conversations when first joining the Bridgerton family, Page explained, “It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end – give us a year…[I thought] ‘That’s interesting,’ because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on.”
He continued, “I have nothing but excitement for Bridgerton continuing to steam train off and conquer the globe…but there is also value in completing these arcs and sticking the landing.”
Page also took to Twitter to speak directly to his followers as the news broke on Friday. He wrote in a tweet, “Pleasure and a privilege! An honour to be a member of the family – on and off screen, cast, crew and incredible fans – the love is real and will just keep growing.”
Read More: Regé-Jean Page wins Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series at NAACP Image Awards 2021
As theGrio reported earlier this year, Bridgerton‘s second season was announced in an official statement from the series’ mysterious narrator, Lady Whistledown. The statement read, “The incomparable cast of Bridgerton will return to production in Spring 2021,” before diving into some teases of the plot for the second season, which is believed to focus on Daphne’s brother, Lord Anthony Bridgerton.
While an official release date has yet to be announced for Bridgerton season 2, production officially began in late March for the sophomore season.
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