When Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy debuted in February (on Peacock in the U.S. and in theaters abroad), it had been nearly nine years since a film focused on the adventures of the beloved British singleton. Would audiences respond with the same affections for Ms. Jones in 2025 that they had when she was introduced to the world with Bridget Jones’s Diary in 2001 or the follow-ups, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in 2004 or Bridget Jones’s Baby in 2016? Turns out the answer was a bloody yes, indeed!
Credit the collaboration of two-time Oscar winner Renée Zellweger, who slipped back into Bridget’s life (and accent) like no time had passed, author and screenwriter Helen Fielding, and the new man on the scene, filmmaker Michael Morris. But the truth is, time had passed. Mad About the Boy picks up four years after the crushing death of Bridget’s true love, Mark Darcy, played by swoon-worthy Colin Firth, leaving Bridget navigating life as a single mother with their two young children. Enter two potential love interests played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, as a strict teacher, and The White Lotus breakout Leo Woodall as a garbage aficionado.
Zellweger and Morris collaborated once again for the conversation below to discuss how they cracked Jones’ code, the most memorable moments on set and whether this is truly the end of the road for Bridget and company.
Renée, you have that emotional scene with Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy when you arrive at the house together, and we can feel the grief. But there are moments of joy and levity once you enter and greet your friends. What was that scene like for you to shoot?
RENéE ZELLWEGER That was, “I’m not supposed to cry in the scene,” and it’s impossible not to cry in that scene. It was such a strange day seeing Colin there in his Mark Darcy finery. I had this moment of realization that the real-life journey of sharing the Bridget and Mark Darcy love story with my friend was coming to an end. It really felt like a profound moment thinking about the nearly 30 years we’ve shared in telling this story. Then I thought, “Yeah, I don’t want this to end. I love Mark and Bridget!”
MICHAEL MORRIS What I love so much about your performance in that moment — it’s critical actually for how we are setting up this particular story of this woman’s journey on from her great love — is that while standing in the doorway, after experiencing all those feelings you just talked about, the character Jeremy [played by Neil Edmond] answers the door. He is obviously upset on this anniversary of his friend’s death, and it’s Bridget who consoles him. It’s Bridget who hugs him and says, “It’s OK.” Then your voiceover comes in and we go into the scene as the audience is feeling this loss, and it’s Bridget who is looking after us. She’s saying that this is what happened and “I’m OK.” That’s so Bridget in the way that you’ve made her over the years. When she wallows, she wallows. But for the rest of her life, she doesn’t. I found that a really wonderful way to begin. All of the sadness was there, all the nostalgia was there, all the yearning for the past. But you were really present: you Renée, you Bridget.
Michael, you said Renée and Bridget as almost one in the same. I know a lot of people feel that way. Helen Fielding told Marie Claire, “Bridget and Renée have merged into the same person for me. But when Renée and I met, it’s quite funny and confusing because we both think the other is Bridget, but neither of us is.” Renée, what do you make of that?
ZELLWEGER It’s interesting what Helen says about that, as she exists in the middle of everybody. I feel like when we sit down with the friends or with Colin or Michael, who has been working on the script so closely for such a long time, or with Helen, who is in the midst of all of these conversations, she starts to show up. The rest of it is technical. I just have affinity for her. I love her. I love who she is and what she inspires, her optimism and her joy and her perspective. I love that she lifts other people up when she’s feeling down and that she’s self-effacing in a way that we all recognize. It’s just a testament to this beautiful thing that Helen has tapped into in terms of our vulnerabilities and bits of our shared humanity that Bridget seems to embody in a way that makes us feel seen when we spend time with her. It is an interesting experience [to play Bridget] because she’s different every time. That’s an unusual exercise for an actor to have that opportunity, and I’ve loved it because each time each of us revisits this world, Bridget’s world, we’re all different as well. So much has changed and so much has changed us. How wonderful not to have to pretend that we’re less than we are.
Michael, after having worked on the script and being British and knowing the world of Bridget Jones for so long, what was it like when you called “action” and saw Renée slip into becoming Bridget?
MORRIS Funnily enough, I experienced Renée as Bridget almost instantly when Renée came to London because she brings that energy, much of the character and her outlook, to the entire process, whether it’s a meeting, conversation or rehearsal. One of my favorite moments, before even calling action, came on our very, very first day, which we had set aside as a rehearsal. We had some really great days rehearsing with the two children, who were fantastic. Casper Knopf is a wonderful young actor who had been onstage with David Tennant doing Macbeth but had never done anything like this before, and Mila [Jankovic] had never done anything and was just a ball of energy and spirit. On day one, we set aside some time for us all to get to know each other and be in a room and talk about the scenes loosely. Literally, within 15 minutes of everyone getting there, they went from “Hello, my name is Mila” and “Hello, my name is Casper” to the kids crawling all over Renée. Mila was on her lap putting slime all over her. It was just all warmth. I knew in that moment they were a family with family history. How did that happen? That’s a bit of a magic trick, and I don’t ever deny the skill of the magician in that one. Renée has a real ability with everybody on the film —technicians, guest cast, background artists, everyone — of inviting them into the world that she has created over these 25 years so that everyone feels connected and part of this character. There’s no sense of me and you, us and them, mine and yours. Everything is ours. When you’re making a film, that’s everything. It allows everyone to do their best work and relax into the project and feel safe to try things and be supported. Thank God that’s the environment Renée creates wherever she goes.
That was so lovely. Renée, are you blushing?
ZELLWEGER Hot pink.
Leo Woodall stars as one of two potential love interests for Renée Zellweger’s Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.
Alex Bailey/Universal Pictures
You said that this is the last book, but forgive me in advance for asking the same question that’s on everyone’s mind: Have there been any conversations with Helen about another book or continuing Bridget Jones’ journey in some way?
ZELLWEGER My understanding was that this was kind of it, but I keep my fingers crossed that she might want to share some more of her own experiences through the world of Bridget.
MORRIS Me too. And look who we’ve got: Chiwetel Ejiofor in the world now, and we’ve got Leo Woodall in the world now. We’ve got all these fantastic people and Helen’s got her life, her kids are going to college. Let’s hope for more chapters.
Renée, knowing this could be the last, how did you honor that? Did you take any special mementos from set or do you have anything that marks what could be the end?
ZELLWEGER Twenty-five years’ worth.
This story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
