Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan are ready for their characters’ love story to play out. 360aproko spoke to the Bridgerton stars at a Valentine’s Day celebration in London, and they reacted to leading the upcoming third season of the hit Netflix series.
“They were babies in the first season,” Coughlan told 360aproko of her character, Penelope Featherington, and that of her onscreen love interest, Colin Bridgerton (Newton). “… It was very intimidating to step in that mantle of the romantic.”
Newton agreed, but said that counting Coughlan as a real-life friend made their new job easier.
“I feel like there’s always that question being asked of, is it easier to do the intimacy scenes or the more romantic scenes with someone who is your friend of four years or someone you just met for one day? I can safely say it’s easier with a friend,” he said. “There really is that sort of support.”
“It’s scary going in, but then, thankfully, we have a really good relationship, so we can talk about it, and we can laugh about it when we need to,” Coughlan added. “It made it scary, but a lot better.”
As for why Penelope and Colin are a perfect couple, Coughlan noted, “They both feel like the overlooked sibling in their families, so to finally have them step into the fortune, it’s a pretty big change.”
The fans agree, with Coughlan explaining, “I think a lot of people see themselves in these characters, because they’re like the two misfits, people who don’t feel quite right. feel unseen.”
Their love story won’t come easy, though, as season 2 saw Colin rudely state that he would “never dream of courting Penelope Featherington,” a sentiment that the lady in question overheard.
“He’s got to pay for that,” Newton acknowledged. “It’s not just like, let’s start season 3 and everything is rosy. He’s got to pay the consequences of his actions last season and then we’ll see where they go from there.”
Outside of Penelope and Colin, the actors teased that season 3 of Bridgerton will be unpredictable, romantic and suspenseful, with Coughlan adding, “I think this is the most action-packed season in terms of a lot goes on for all the characters.”
