When Bridgerton launched on Netflix on Christmas Day 2020, viewers around the world fell for Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings. The actor behind him had spent his childhood in Zimbabwe.
Regé-Jean Page was born in London in 1988 to a Zimbabwean mother, a nurse, and an English father, a preacher. The family moved to Harare when he was a child, and he spent much of his youth there before returning to London as a teenager.
Training
Page trained at the Drama Centre London and worked in theatre, including at the National Theatre. He appeared in the British series Mountain Goats and played Chicken George in the 2016 remake of Roots, the story of an African American family through generations of slavery.
For the People
In the United States, Page starred in the legal drama For the People, playing a federal prosecutor. The show ran for two seasons and gave him his first major American role.
Bridgerton
Bridgerton, based on Julia Quinn’s novels and produced by Shonda Rhimes’s company, is set in a reimagined Regency London where race does not determine social rank. Page played the Duke of Hastings, a brooding aristocrat who falls for Daphne Bridgerton, played by Phoebe Dynevor.
The show became one of Netflix’s most-watched series. Page earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He chose not to return for the second season, a decision that surprised fans, saying he had signed on for a single, complete story.
After Bridgerton
Page went on to roles in films including The Gray Man and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. He also hosted the comedy show Saturday Night Live in February 2021.
Zimbabwe
Page has spoken about growing up in Harare and about his Zimbabwean family. He has said that living in Zimbabwe shaped his sense of identity and confidence.
Diversity in period drama
Bridgerton’s casting of Black actors in leading aristocratic roles sparked debate and inspired a wave of more diverse period dramas. Page’s performance was central to that shift.
Legacy
Page became one of the most talked-about actors of 2021, a rare case of a single role creating an international star almost overnight.
The Duke of Hastings said goodbye after one season. The boy from Harare had already become one of television’s leading men.
