- Bridget Jones creator Helen Fielding has opened up about her decision to have the protagonist take on a relationship with a much younger man in the new movie
- Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy will be released in theaters this week
- Elsewhere, co-star Leo Woodall also weighed in on playing a younger lover
After nearly ten years, Bridget Jones is (almost) back on the big screen.
The latest instalment in the protagonist’s life – which will be released on February 14 and is titled Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy – will see the return of some familiar faces, including Hugh Grant as the dastardly Daniel Cleaver, as well as Bridget herself, Renée Zellweger.
But true fans of the franchise will know that Bridget’s husband, Mark Darcy – played by Colin Firth in the movies – will not be appearing on screen.
Writer Helen Fielding tragically killed the character off in the book of the same name, which was released in 2013. But all is not lost for Bridge, as this movie will see her navigate dating as a single mother.
While Hollywood has traditionally shown age-gap romances showing older men with younger women, Fielding wanted to subvert that – as Bridget explores a relationship with 29-year-old Roxster, played by Leo Woodall, in the film.
In an interview this week, Fielding explained, “For years and years we’ve seen Hollywood show men 40 years older than their partners, and it’s not even discussed.
“Now movies are finally exploring a desire between younger men and older women that’s reciprocal, not transactional.”
She continued, “Bridget and Roxster both see something they want in each other – and Bridget being sexy is to be celebrated.
“I really wanted to smash the idea with this movie that there’s a sexual sell-by-date for women and not for men, and stick it to the awful cougar stereotype.
“It makes me think of a woman in animal print leering over a friend of my son’s, going, ‘Do you want a sherry, darling?’ It’s got to stop, because it’s really not reflecting what’s happening.”
Leo Woodall also opens up about Bridget Jones romance
Woodall has also chimed in on the wide age-gap romance.
“When two people find the connection, why shouldn’t they see where it goes without judgment?” he said. “’Both dynamics should be equally normalised. It’s a good thing that we’re getting the reverse. Because it’s not uncommon – it’s just not portrayed much in movies.”
While Woodall will star opposite Oscar-winner Zellweger as heartthrob Roxster in the movie, he has admitted that parts of the role made him feel “vulnerable”.
“In some ways, [being objectified is] part of the gig,” he went on.
“But also, there are sides of it that can make you feel quite vulnerable and exposed. That side isn’t as fun.”
Leo Woodall ranks the boyfriends he has played onscreen
Although Woodall did praise Rockster’s character, he surprisingly isn’t the ‘best boyfriend’ the actor has ever played.
In an interview with BBC Radio 1, Woodall ranked his characters before choosing his favorite.
After watching a clip of his role in The White Lotus, Jack, Woodall quipped, “Wise man, at least.”
Rockster was up next, to which Woodall laughed, “Compared to Jack, I think he’d edge it. He’s got a good soul.”
Branding Dexter – who Woodall won our hearts as in One Day – “a sensitive boy”, it was then time to choose the best boyfriend.
“I’m going to go Dexter,” Woodall confirmed. “Early days, he was slightly problematic. But he comes good.”
