Regé-Jean Page almost immediately shot to fame after being cast as the charming Simon Basset in the Netflix period series Bridgerton. Much to everyone’s surprise though, the London-born actor decided to exit the show after just one season. Since then, fans wondered what was next for the actor up until he in the recently released Netflix film The Gray Man by Joe and Anthony Russo.It’s an action film that the Russo brothers had been working on for years with Charlize Theron even attached as one of the leads.In the end, however, the directors ended up doing the film with Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, and frequent collaborator Chris Evans (who got roughed up a bit while shooting the movie).And while these three heavyweights are the main stars of the movie, Page’s performance as CIA operative Carmichael also steals the show.
Did Regé-Jean Page Leave Bridgerton For The Gray Man?
Especially after it was revealed that Page had been cast in the Russo brothers’ latest film, many wondered if the actor did leave Bridgerton for The Gray Man.
“We did not pull him away from Bridgerton,” Joe has quickly clarified. “I don't want anyone coming after us.” That said, he also admitted that they first knew of the actor because of Shonda Rhimes’ hit show.
“My wife is a huge Bridgerton fan. That's how we discovered him,” Joe said. “I watched all of Bridgerton with my wife.” Anthony also added, “It timed up actually, right after he left.”
It also seems that they made up their minds about casting Page upon seeing the actor host Saturday Night Live.
“We thought he was fantastic,” Joe recalled. “I thought he was charismatic and really, really compelling and fun to watch. We thought he'd be perfect as a villain.”
For Regé-Jean Page, Saying Yes To The Russo Brothers Was A ‘No-Brainer’
The Gray Man is the first project that Page agreed to do since leaving Bridgerton. And when he finally got the script for the film, the actor couldn’t contain his excitement.
“It was this thing where the script turned up, and it was the most fun thing I had read so far,” Page said.
“It was this kind of thrill ride from beginning to end, but also always had its eye on making sure the audience enjoying itself, but also had so much ambition that I didn’t know how you pull it off until you remember that the Russos are directing it, and they can pull off pretty much anything as a thriller just to kind of attach yourself and watch them do it from close quarters. It was an absolute no-brainer.”
And once they were done shooting the film, Page was also blown away by the final cut. “When I watched this thing in a screening room, it physically shook me. So I don’t think that there’s any limits to how big this is. This is the biggest action movie that I’ve ever seen,” the actor said.
“Also the fun thing about the Russos, they are such masters of genre that they can kind of turn on a dime between an absolute white knuckle adrenaline ride, and then this kind of [snaps] community-esque wink at the camera where everything is actually very funny, straight back into white knuckle action, you know?”
The actor also enjoyed learning from action stars Gosling and Evans. “It’s a free master class every single day. And again, they’re very, very generous artists,” Page said of the two actors.
“They’re people who will give you their time, who will give you absolutely everything in moments of performance and moments off performance.”
Meanwhile, the Russos also had nothing but praise for Page after working with him. “This guy is a movie star,” Joe remarked while speaking with Entertainment Tonight. “This is like they created a mold for movie stars... We met Regé in person, he is 10 times more charismatic in person than he is onscreen.”
Following The Gray Man, Regé-Jean Page Is Teaming Up With The Russo Brothers Again
After The Gray Man, Page is also set to collaborate with the Russos again as the actor is already attached to an untitled Noah Hawley project that the brothers are producing. “We got on really well. We had a couple of great productive, long conversations about business in general, about what they wanna make, what I wanna make,” Page explained.
“Out of that has come the collaboration with Noah, which is super exciting, which I can say absolutely nothing about. But I mean, you can’t get a better billing than that, between Noah Hawley and the Russos you’re in such incredibly good company.”
From the looks of it, it also seems that Page will become one of the Russo brothers’ frequent collaborators, much like Evans and Tom Holland. “It’s a wonderful relationship to have,” the actor even said. “And I’m looking forward to sharing more and more of the creative stuff we have coming out there because it certainly excites me.”
