Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page laughs off James Bond rumours: ‘I don’t think it’s much more than a merit badge’

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Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page has responded to calls for him to play the next James Bond.

The British actor has been one of the breakout stars of Netflix’s historical romance series, thanks to his role as romantic lead Simon Bassett, Duke of Hastings, causing many fans to suggest that Page should take over the role of 007 after Daniel Craig.

In response, Page is now one of the bookies’ favourites to play Bond, with Ladbrokes slashing his odds from 40/1 to 16/1 earlier this week.

Appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Friday (8 January), the actor was questioned about the Bond rumours but laughed off the comments.

“I think the internet thinks a lot of things and that’s one of the more pleasant ones, so I’m pleased as far as that goes,” he told Fallon.

“But nah, I think there might be an element of cultural translation to be done here,” he continued. “If you’re a Brit and you do something of any kind of renown that people regard well, then people start saying the B word.”

Comparing being considered for Bond to a “merit badge”, he continued: “I don’t think it’s much more than that. I’m very glad to have the badge, I’m glad to be in such wonderful company of people who have the badge.”

Bridgerton has been a huge hit for Netflix, with the streaming service announcing last week that the show had been watched by 63 million households since its Christmas Day debut.

This makes it Netflix’s fifth biggest original series launch of all time, with Bridgerton reaching the number one spot on Netflix’s top 10 in 76 countries.

Meanwhile, fans have spotted a clue about Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and his future on the show in the season one finale.