Why Luke Thompson Turned Down Bridgerton Advice From Phoebe Dynevor and Jonathan Bailey
Bridgerton season four is officially here. And from new castings to behind the scenes antics, the Netflix Regency drama has been dominating the headlines.
The show's fourth season is based on the third novel from Julia Quinn's bestselling collection, An Offer From a Gentleman, starring Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton and Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek.
And with each season following one of the eight Bridgerton children, Thompson is the fourth actor to take the lead, coming after Phoebe Dynevor (Daphne Bridgerton), Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton) and Luke Newton (Colin Bridgerton).
This has reportedly inspired a Bridgerton cast tradition, with the onscreen siblings passing down a book of advice from their experience leading a season.
"Phoebe was great at [counselling] me, because it’s not something you can explain to your friends and family, who you don’t see for weeks on end," Bailey has previously explained to the Radio Times.
The advice, he noted, was physical as well as mental, including "to get fit, eat healthily and get as much sleep as possible".
And after finding the suggestions so useful, Bailey created a notebook of guidance to be passed down through the seasons, explaining: "It’s a Bridgerton guide for the next sibling who plays the lead."
However, Luke Thompson explained this week that he turned down the advice from his onscreen siblings, insisting that he wanted to "make [his own] mistakes."
"I didn't. It was offered," Thompson stated when asked whether he had received some advice from the former Bridgerton leads, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "People said, 'If you ever need help, then…' And that's great! I think I just wanted to make my mistakes and sort of battle my way through it, just because I think you probably learn more that way."
"It's just so personal," he continued. "The thing about Bridgerton is that every season it's slightly different. It sort of regenerates, and part of that regeneration is that it's a different couple of actors at the center of it. So, in a way, it's difficult to even maybe be able to give advice, because it's such a personal experience.... It's not this formula that you have to just live up to, and the people who've done it before [are] like, 'This is how you do it.' Every year, it’s a different thing, and it gets to breathe in a slightly different way."
Bridgerton season four part one is available to watch now on Netflix, and part two will air on 26 February 2026.
