Bridgerton season two may be all about Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley) finding love, but it’s Luke Newton, a.k.a. Colin, who will have you looking forward to seasons three and four the most by the end.
When you watch the hit Netflix show’s return, you’ll find the character at a bit of a crossroads: He’s back from his travels abroad and wondering, What next? He doesn’t figure it out—not yet—but all that inner conflict leads the charming, easy-going Bridgerton brother down an interesting path. Oh, and anyone shipping Polin (that is, Colin and Penelope Featherington) will have a lot to keep them occupied. We don’t know when it will be Colin’s turn to find love—if Netflix continues to follow the order of the Bridgerton books, it will be season four—but we’ll be ready for it.
In person, Newton is just as warm and kind as the character. He’s the kind of person who spontaneously buys phone chargers for a forgetful friend in need and plans big romantic gestures just because his girlfriend (actor Jade Davies) is going out of town for work. One conversation with Luke Newton and it’s clear: He’s the perfect choice to play Colin.
The actor was even game to play our Inappropriate Questions, perhaps the biggest sign of all that he’s ready for romantic hero status. Read on.
Glamour: It was really sweet and lovely to see more of Colin and dive a little deeper into the character this season. Was there anything that you were particularly excited about exploring?
Luke Newton: I think, actually because it threw me off a bit, was the fact that he hadn’t had as much growth and self-discovery as I thought he would from traveling. I was really excited for him to come back and have this sort of revelation while he was away of what he wanted to do with his life. But actually he didn’t. He was almost stuck in this weird place.
After I spoke to [showrunner] Chris Van Dusen about it, it really excited me about the role because it was like, Right, you've missed a year of what everyone else has been doing, but in terms of Colin, nothing’s really changed. He’s been riddled with guilt and feels stuck in the same place. That was most exciting for me to be like, “Okay. I’m taking off exactly where we left the audience.” It was really fun to dive straight back in where we left off, really.
I think that speaks to the growth to come in future seasons. The door is open for that.
Yeah, totally, because it’s a slow burner now rather than jumping straight to him being a man. He’s very much stuck. I’m excited for the future of it as well, which is great.
Are you feeling prepared for the Polin fan reaction toward this season?
So excited. It’s going to be wild. I mean, it already has been. The response to anything that me and Nicola [Coughlan] do together as actors, whether that’s just a picture at an event or on set or their story on the show…. I think a lot of people connect to that. I can’t wait for it to flip on its head and be a roller coaster of a story. Unrequited love is such a universal theme, so it’s going to be really interesting to see where it goes and if the dynamic shifts and power changes from one to another.
When it comes to love and relationships, how do you relate the most to Colin? And where are you different?
I’d like to think that I’m not as naive and susceptible to manipulation as Colin. From season one, there were times when I wanted to slap him and be like, “Wake up.” And also, in terms of not seeing what’s right in front of him—there’s someone that cares about him that he has a really good connection with. It’s like, “Wake up, bro. She’s right in front of you!” Hopefully I’m a bit more aware of my surroundings than he is.
But at the same time, I share his admiration for romance, being romantic, being generous and kind. He wears his heart on his sleeve, which I feel like I do a bit. I feel like I have a lot of empathy for people, which I think he does. Going into season two, he’s definitely struggled with that. His whole time traveling, his empathy for other people has kind of burdened him while he’s been away. He hasn’t really been out to enjoy it completely because he’s kind of worried about everything.
As a potential leading man in the series, what would you say is the most attractive thing about yourself?
I know everyone says it, but I like to think my sense of humor. I don’t actually think I’m particularly very funny. I just think that I have a particular sense of humor, and when I meet someone, I know immediately if our humor fits in. That’s something that’s really important to me, so maybe that’s why I see that in myself. Hopefully my girlfriend thinks I’m funny.
But then, I guess, also being kind. I hate say it because it sounds like I’m just gassing myself up. I actually had a really lovely conversation with a friend of mine recently, and it got me quite emotional. He’s changing careers and said, “I really want to just be the best version of myself and just be really kind to people. You actually inspired me to do that.” I was in the car driving at the time and was like, “Oh, my God. You’re going to get me here.”
I think it’s that thing in Friends where Phoebe says something like, “There’s no such thing as a good deed.” Because I like to do things for people, I feel like I’m quite generous. I like to get things for people. For example, a friend of mine was like, “I’ve lost all my chargers.” So the next day I sent him an Amazon order for three chargers. I told him, “Put one in every place that you could think of and you’ve got it.” Things like that. I love to be generous. But is that just so I feel good? Who knows. I think that’s something installed in me from my mom, really. I’m really close to my mom—definitely a mommy’s boy—and she’s the kindest person I know. So, I like to think I’m a bit like her.
If that’s just what you’ll do for friend, it makes me curious: What’s the most romantic thing you’ve done for a girlfriend?
When I first [started dating] Jade, my girlfriend, it was her birthday and she was going away to do a theater job in Estonia. She was staying near the airport the night before because it was a really early flight, and we went for dinner and had a really nice evening. We’d only known each other like two weeks at this point, but toward the end of the night, I said, “Oh, I’ve got a gift for you.” It was a brand-new suitcase that I bought because she had this old tatty suitcase. I was like, “I’ve got a gift for you to take with you—a brand-new suitcase. You can transfer your stuff over.” And then she opened it up and inside was my ticket to go with her. I went with her to Estonia and stayed with her for a good few days. That felt quite romantic at the time.
Uh, yeah. It sounds like it belongs on Bridgerton.
Could be, right?
Fill in the blank. I love when my girlfriend...
I love when my girlfriend laughs and dances to TV theme songs. It’s my favorite thing. She dances in the lift all the time. I put one on my Instagram recently. She just likes to dance in public places when no one can see. That’s what’s quite fun about it. I’m like, “Quick, I need to film this because this is a memory.” Yeah, dancing to TV theme tunes. It’s hilarious.
That’s where the shared sense of humor comes in, right?
Yeah, totally. We laugh at exactly the same things. It’s mad.
Since Bridgerton is such a massively popular show, what’s the most interesting person or comment to slide into your DMs?
Oh, gosh. So, Colin is known in the books as a foodie. He loves his food. We didn’t really explore that too much in season one, so I took it upon myself in season two to do it myself. Anytime there was a scene in the drawing room, anytime there’s a scene where there was food, I said to the team, “Can I just have a plate be stacked up with as many biscuits and sandwiches as you can?” I wanted him to look like a hungry boy.
And then I got the strangest DM, just a really blunt comment of, “Send me a video of you eating,” or something like that. I didn’t respond or open it, but it was an interesting one. I understood why. I wasn’t like, “This is creepy or weird.” I was like, “You are a Colin fan!” I relate to that side of him. I also love my food.
Yeah, out of context that would take on a whole other meaning. Last question: With seasons three and four already confirmed, where would you like to see Colin go? Is there anything you’d like to see him do next?
I’d like to see him settle, even if it’s just for a moment, even if it’s for like one or two episodes. I feel like Colin—even just in the family environment and dynamic—is unsettled by something the majority of the time. There was the love story that he was keeping from everyone last year and everything that was playing on his mind at that point. This year it’s him not having a purpose and feeling kind of down and not having something that he’s passionate about. You know when you watch shows, particularly shows that go for years and years and years, and you are just like…I’m a big fan of The Walking Dead, and there was a point when they all were settled and it really made me go, “Oh, my God, this is so nice.” Because they’ve been running away from those zombies for years, and now they finally get to have a bit of enjoyment.
So, I guess it’s that. I guess it would be a ball where he feels great, he feels confident, and he’s found himself a bit. That’s what I’d love. But then, if that happens, that’s almost the end of his story. So I’m happy to wait for as long or as soon as they want that to happen.
Anna Moeslein is the deputy editor at Glamour.
