Luke Thompson photographed in London by Suki Dhanda for the Observer New Review. Photo: Suki Dhanda/The Observer
Actor Luke Thompson, 35, was born in Southampton, grew up in France and trained at Rada. He was nominated for two awards for his first professional role in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare's Globe. After a decade in theater, he made his big screen breakthrough playing Benedict Bridgerton in the Netflix hit Bridgerton, which will soon return for its third season. He recently played Willem on stage A small lifeopposite James Norton, and now makes his RSC debut as Berowne The labor of love is lost.
You recently won a WhatsOnStage award and you were nominated for an Olivier for A small life. Was that gratifying?
It's a nice icing on the cake of that experience. It's easy to have an opinion about awards when you're not nominated, but they actually mean a lot. I've put a lot of time and effort into getting better at acting, so it's incredibly meaningful to be recognized in that way.
What was the audience's reaction like? There were reports of fainting.
Oh god, yes, everything. There were weeks when it was crazy. The craziest one was towards the end of the run. Someone coughed very loudly during a quiet moment in the play and the show had to stop. It turned out that they had vomited a projectile in the dressing circle, all over other people, who then also started gagging, so it was like a chain reaction. I sometimes wonder to what extent this is self-perpetuating. The more people expect graphic content, the more strongly they may respond. There has definitely been an increase in fainting rates post-pandemic.
Learning lines is easier on the go... I'm walking down the street and I pass someone while I'm reciting at full volume
How was working with James Norton?
Fantastic. What I like about James is that he keeps it simple. I don't know if it's his screen experience, but in the theater there is a risk of repeating a performance over and over again that you start to embellish him and he becomes unrecognizable. Whereas James always wanted to cut the fat and get back to the core of it.
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We speak to each other during a break during rehearsals The labor of love is lost. Is your RSC debut a big deal for you?
A really big problem. It is also a good time to do this when there has been a change of artistic directors. It feels like a new page. It is a great honor to be the first production in the main theater.
Director Emily Burns' production is inspired by billionaire tech bros, right?
The play itself is very Elizabethan. We tried to put it in a modern, more recognizable context. It starts with a group of rich, powerful men who are very concerned about what to do with their time, what's real, what's honest, what's fake. We all live in that online world now. It's also about self-improvement and how to deal with these terrible things [points at his mobile phone].
The play contains Shakespeare's longest speech. How are you going to learn that?
As always with Shakespeare, there are different versions floating around, but hey, it's a mouthful. Lines in these great texts work like magic spells. You learn them, repeat them and it releases things in you. So I mutter it to myself and see what happens. Somehow it's easier when I'm on the road, but I have to be careful. I'm walking down the street and I come across someone reciting lines at full volume. Then I'll become quiet, because it's like I'm being caught.
There is an ongoing debate about ticket prices for the West End. Should theater become more accessible?
Naturally. It's not just about accessibility, it's about the role of theatre. Sometimes I worry that it's for the 0.05% of the population that goes all the time, but I still believe that theater has a social function. It's a bit like politics: you need everyone involved, with as many different backgrounds as possible. Theater should be the opposite of an echo chamber. It's about coming together and sharing ideas. That is increasingly rare these days. We're all stuck behind our screens, somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of proper debate and exchange.
Bridgerton Series three is just around the corner. Where do we find your character Benedict?
Things come to a head as we try to figure out what he actually wants. When you are "the backup" there is a lack of pressure. Benedict wanders around having fun, freely and easily, but he is also paralyzed by choice and the search for something more meaningful. He's quite a modern character in that respect: I know a lot of people who are trying to build meaning in their lives.
Is this series as sexy as ever?
Naturally. Julia Quinn's books are romance novels, so it would be a betrayal not to explore that. It is a genre with its own codes. That's what's so wonderful about the show. Sometimes it is dismissed as not serious, but there can be misogyny. People love romance. There's not enough of it around.
What's it like to see your bare backside? Pretty weird. We don't often have that image of ourselves. In a way, it's good to keep track of these things.
A disabled character joins the cast of this series. Are you proud of it? Bridgertonthe diversity?
Very proud. It's great to see everyone represented on screen. At that time there were people with disabilities. It also gives the lie to the authenticity police that determine how period dramas are made. Especially in Britain - it also happens with productions of Shakespeare - there is an army of people ready to insist that it should be a museum piece. It is often dominated by a nostalgia for something that never existed. Bridgerton It's not a documentary, it's a drama. In drama you can do whatever you want, Shakespeare wrote history plays that are completely historically inaccurate and no one cares about it. I think partly because he's dead. But it's a poetic reality and Bridgerton is no different.
What is it like learning Regency dance styles for ballroom scenes?
Have fun. I have to be careful with spoilers or I'll get arrested, but I get a nice dance moment this season. It's fascinating if you understand these dances as a dating app. They ensure that people speak, touch, are close - and then literally swipe to the next row.
Luke Newton plays Colin Bridgerton. Does it ever get confusing when two Lukes brothers are playing?
It's okay because I'm often called "Lukey T" and he's called "Newts." There's suddenly a whole stream of acting Lukes. Later in the RSC season, Luke Thallon plays Hamlet. I grew up thinking I was the only Luke in town, but it's back in fashion. We're all about the same age, so there must have been a Luke moment in the late 80s/early 90s!
What do people often say when they recognize you?
It's always a nice exchange. The breadth of people who are Bridgerton fans is heartwarming. Although someone once asked: "Are you coming out? Bridgerton?" I dodged the question a bit and then saw her Google "Bernard Bridgerton" on her phone, which made me laugh. Who is Bernard? Another came with a photo of Jonny Bailey [who plays Lord Anthony Bridgerton] and said, "This is you, isn't it?" I was like, "Well, obviously not. Of course we play brothers, but we look very different.' The funniest one was recently on a plane to New York with some of the Bridgerton lot. The stewardess came to Claudia [Jessie, who plays Eloise Bridgerton] and said, "Oh my god, you look like Eloise Bridgerton!" She pointed at me and said, "And doesn't he look like the brother?" The flight attendant said, "Oh, I wish that!" So apparently I look bad in real life.
Which fellow actors do you admire?
I just saw American fiction and the entire cast was great, but Sterling K Brown was especially great as the brother. It was just simple, warm, easy acting. It was also wonderful to see Jeffrey Wright front and center for a change.
What theater have you enjoyed recently?
I loved An enemy by the people with Matt Smith and had the best time Sunset Blvd. It was so fun, sexy and exciting.
How do you relax when you are not working?
I am a pianist. I've been playing since I was a kid and have passed all grades. Sometimes acting can feel like you're always giving in to other people and not having much control, but piano is something that's all yours. I can sit down, play classical stuff for two or three hours, and not notice the time passing. I might be ready to take it into an acting job someday.
Do you have a dream role?
It's a terrible cliché to say you want to play Hamlet, but most actors do. And I'd like to play Iago, especially because a casting director once told me, "You can't play Iago because you're too nice." That is such a misunderstanding of how evil works. It would be fun to explore something more unpleasant.
