One A-lister originally turned down the role of Bridget Jones

Bridget Jones 4 is officially on its way, with the fourth and final instalment, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, set for release on Valentine's Day 2025. And with a supporting cast of Leo Woodall, Hugh Grant and Chiwetel Ejiofor joining star Renée Zellweger, the upcoming release is all anyone can talk about.

It is the casting of the original Bridget Jones that made headlines this week however, with reports resurfacing that several A-list names were being considered before Renée Zellweger.

Yes, really. According to reports, creators were considering Kate Winslet, Emily Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Cameron Diaz, Rachel Weisz and Cate Blanchett for the part.

And one A-list actress, Toni Collette, was even offered the iconic role, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts.

"While I was doing Wild Party, I turned down Bridget Jones's Diary, because I didn't know when Wild Party was going to close," Collette, 50, explained to the Miami Herald in 2006.

"I wasn't available," she later recalled on Watch What Happens Live last year. "But sometimes I think about it and I think, I don't know, that character's so similar to Muriel [from her 1994 film Muriel's Wedding]. It might've been too close. And I try not to repeat myself.

"I think there are no coincidences," she continued. "Anything that's meant for you in life is meant to happen. I have no regrets - life happens as it's meant to."

Ultimately, the role went to Zellweger. And while she has earned critical acclaim and even an Oscar nomination for her performance, the creators have since explained that her casting was a major risk.

"Everybody who worked on the film had a different idea of who Bridget is," explained director Sharon Maguire via Total Film, back in 2000. "And nearly everybody who has read the book knows Bridget - either it's themselves or it's their friend, so casting her was very scary.

"I figured that when [Renée Zellweger] walked in the room, we'd know. She did walk in the room, and we did know. And we went 'Oh fuck, she's a Texan.'

"We were in the curious position of people saying: 'They've gone for some American to make it more marketable,'" Maguire continued. "Well, we weren't thinking we'd make loads more money because Renée's not in the Julia Roberts or Mel Gibson stratosphere. But she's got this inner irreverence and she's got this innocence and vulnerable exterior. She also has a very good sense of physical comedy and was so dedicated to getting it right."

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is set for release on 14 February 2025.