Jonathan Bailey originally auditioned for a different Bridgerton role and I had no idea

Everyone screamed when Jonathan Bailey finally returned for a brief role in Bridgerton season four, but did you know he originally auditioned for a completely different role in the Netflix show?!

Anthony Bridgerton returned to Mayfair in part two to sort out his brother Benedict, and was later joined by his wife Kate Sharma with their adorable newborn son Edmund. But he wasn’t originally going to be Anthony at all.

Jonathan Bailey actually auditioned for the role of Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings! Yep, he was going to be partnered with Daphne. That would’ve changed everything.

Credit: Netflix

Speaking to Shondaland, casting director Kelly Valentine Hendry said: “With the Duke, we’d seen loads of people. In fact, Jonathan Bailey at that point had been pegged for that part quite early on. But he was always Anthony, really. But Shondaland had worked with Regé before, and he became available at the last minute. So, that was just absolutely a no-brainer.”

Bailey was asked to audition for three different parts in 2018 and didn’t want to, because he had been performing in a stage show called Company for months and just wanted a break. However, his agent convinced him to audition for just one of the roles, and he told the Hollywood Reporter: “I read for the Duke.”

They immediately loved him, but thought he’d be a much better fit for Anthony instead. He was offered the role on his 31st birthday, 25 April 2019, and the rest is history!

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Credit: Netflix

In the same interview, the casting director revealed it was actually Daphne who was the hardest to cast, because she’s such a unique character.

“Daphne Bridgerton is one of the hardest roles we’ve ever had to cast on that show, hands down. Because Daphne Bridgerton needed to be simple; her beauty needed to be incredible because she was to be the diamond, but she also needed to be likable without doing too much,” Hendry said.

“She’s quite down the center in terms of a character — she’s playful, but she can’t be too playful. Things like that. She had to be the perfect woman. And it was Phoebe.”

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Featured image by: Netflix