- Bridget Jones returns to our screens next month
- And now Renée Zellweger, who plays the character, has revealed why she has stayed with the role for almost 25 years
- Zellweger also opened up about working in a publishing house as research for the part
Bridget Jones is set to return to our screens next month – and we can hardly wait.
And while fans across the globe struggle to contain their excitement, there’s someone else who is eagerly anticipating the return of Bridget – Renée Zellweger.
The actor, 55, first played the unlucky-in-love English woman in 2001 – a part which earned her an Oscar nomination.
And now Zellweger has reprised the role for the next movie, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy – which will hit theaters on February 14.
While many may grow tired of a character they have played for almost a quarter of a century, Zellweger is quite the opposite.
In a conversation with co-star Hugh Grant – who has played the dastardly Daniel Cleaver since the franchise’s inception – for Vogue magazine, Zellweger admitted, “I love her. And her story is not finished. As long as Helen [Fielding, author of the Bridget books] puts pen to paper, she’s alive.”
Grant, 64, agreed – and went on to discuss the appeal of Bridget Jones.
“In a nutshell, I say it is the antidote to Instagram,” he explained. “Instagram is telling people, especially women, ‘Your life’s not good enough’. It’s not as good as this woman’s or this woman’s, making you insecure.
“Whereas what Helen did with Bridget is to celebrate failure, while making it funny and joyful.”
Zellweger agreed.
“What I think is, don’t you meet a lot of people who say, “I am Bridget Jones”!? I think maybe folks recognize themselves in her and relate to her struggles and feelings of self-doubt.
“Bridget is authentically herself and doesn’t always get it right, but whatever her imperfections, she remains joyful and optimistic, carries on and triumphs in her own way.”
She continued, “She seems to make her quirky individuality and shortcomings charming, lovable and acceptable – and, in turn, she makes us feel lovable and acceptable too.
“And she celebrates originality, which I think is pretty special too, especially now everybody conforms because they want to be the thing that gets the most approval. Although I don’t have Instagram, so I don’t have that in my brain, personally.”
Renée Zellweger reveals she went undercover for Bridget Jones role
While it’s difficult to imagine anyone other than Zellweger at the helm of the franchise, fans of Fielding’s writing were unhappy at the time that an American had been cast – a fact which Zellweger learned of while on work experience at publishing house Picador, as research for the character.
“I was ‘Bridget Cavendish’ because Jonathan Cavendish, the film’s producer, was very good friends with the gentleman who was the editor of Picador,” she revealed. “Part of my job was to take the newspaper clippings from the daily papers and file them under Helen Fielding’s file, as they represented her.
“And I started having to clip these articles about this ‘crap American actor’ who was set to play Bridget Jones.”
Claiming “nobody knew” her true identity for the “month or two” she was in the office, Zellweger went on, “Maybe I was out of context or maybe it was having more chubby cheeks. It was odd. One of the ladies who worked in the office was reading the Anna Quindlen novel One True Thing and they made a film out of it [that I starred in], so I’m on the cover of the book.
“And she’s there telling me about having finished it on the Tube on the way to work and how marvellous it was.”
Renée Zellweger’s friendship with Hugh Grant shines through
With over two decades of friendship under their belts, Grant and Zellweger’s relationship shone through in the interview.
And Grant joked that there was really no other side to his long-time pal, other than the niceness we see in Bridget.
“With a lot of other actors, you think they’re really great and then suddenly you see a little glint of steely, scary ambition and you realise this person would trample their grandmother to get what they want in this business,” he said. “But I’ve never seen that glint coming off you. So either it’s very well disguised or you are quite nice.”
Zellweger laughed in reply, “I’m actually just very boring. Meanwhile you’re fascinating, with a vast hidden trove of outstanding skills. You’re hilariously brilliant at everything you hate.
“And, though you hate humans, you’re a very good and loyal friend. I like you very much. And I love working with you.”
