‘Bridgerton’: Victor Alli & Daniel Francis on Joining the Ton & Finding Love in Season 3 (VIDEO)
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1.]
Bridgerton‘s universe continued to expand in Part 1 of the show’s long-anticipated third season as the Ton introduced Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis) and John Stirling (Victor Alli), the latter a character plucked from the pages of Julia Quinn’s novels.
Meanwhile, Marcus is a show creation, introduced as Lady Danbury’s (Adjoa Andoh) younger brother. But he’s more than merely a sibling as sparks fly between him and Lady Danbury’s bestie Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell). “Both aspects, being a brother and being a lover at the same time, it’s wonderful,” Francis gushes. “But I think for me, with Marcus, it’s such a genuine desire to experience true love. He hasn’t had that.”
Marcus told Violet of his first marriage, noting that while he and his wife cared for each other, it wasn’t a love match, whereas Violet’s storied romance with the late Edmund Bridgerton could make her skeptical she might find something like it again. Is Marcus about to prove her wrong?
“To be showing up quite open and quite vulnerable… it’s nice to play,” Francis admits. As for the simmering tension between Marcus and Lady Danbury, Francis teases, “We’re in a time where once you are separated geographically, it’s not so easy to communicate. We can’t do a Zoom and have a talk and say, ‘Listen, some stuff happened in the past and we need to resolve that.'”
“They’ve been apart for many years and haven’t had an opportunity to bridge the gap,” Francis adds. “Marcus is largely unaware… of what she’s holding. So it’s exciting as we start to discover that.”
As for the introduction of John, who is sure to spark some big feelings from book readers, Alli likes his chances of securing the newly-launched Bridgerton, Francesca (Hannah Dodd). Despite some early competition, Alli points out, “He’s not trying so hard… For goodness sake, he didn’t say anything and that was enough to make an impression [on Francesca].”
“I think what’s nice is eventually as it goes on then you see a different side of him being quite charming and quite thoughtful even with the music and he has an old way of doing things and showing grand gestures,” Alli elaborates of John and Francesca’s blossoming romance. “He’s really, really thoughtful, and I think that’s what Francesca really loves.”
See what else Alli and Francis had to divulge in the full video interview, above, and don’t miss them when Bridgerton‘s third season returns with Part 2 this summer on Netflix.
Bridgerton, Season 3, Part 1, Streaming now, Netflix
Bridgerton, Season 3, Part 2 Premiere, Thursday, June 13, Netflix