Phoebe Dynevor Almost Quit Hollywood Before Landing Her Bridgerton Role

Phoebe Dynevor is well known by Bridgerton fans for her portrayal of Daphne Basset (née Bridgerton). The actor starred in Netflix’s Regency era hit for two seasons and became one of the show’s breakout stars alongside Regé-Jean Page, Jonathan Bailey, and Simone Ashley — but right before Dynevor was cast as Daphne, she almost gave up on her Hollywood dreams altogether.

In an interview with Elle, the actor said she’d moved to the United States from England in 2019 to pursue a career in acting. However, after failing to land any major acting gigs, she decided to return home, and even booked a flight.

When Dynevor’s agent called about an audition for Shonda Rhimes’ Bridgerton adaptation, though, the actor was convinced to delay her travel plans and turned around with her packed suitcase in tow.

Betsy Beers, an executive producer on Bridgerton, revealed to Elle that “finding the right Daphne was very difficult,” but following Dynevor’s first audition, producers knew she was meant to be their leading lady. “We saw it immediately with Phoebe,” Beers explained. “She had this incredible ability to both embody the rigid rules of Regency-era England and also transform into a heroine we could all identify with.”

Bridgerton’s first season premiered on Christmas Day in 2020, and the Shondaland drama quickly became one of Netflix’s most successful releases of all time, reaching 82 million households in just 28 days.

Recalling the show’s meteoric rise, Dynevor said that she was “really naïve” about the attention her portrayal of Daphne would bring.

“I don’t think there was a period of my life as an actress when I thought about fame,” the actor explained to Elle. “My only goal was to work as an actress and not have to have any other jobs. And so I just didn’t expect it to change my world in the way that it did.”

After Daphne got her happily ever after in Season 1, Dynevor played a supporting role in Bridgerton's second chapter, and she won’t appear at all in Season 3, which is set to focus on the romance between Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan).

“I did my two seasons. I've done what I wanted to do with that character, and she had a great arc,” Dynevor told Variety in January 2023, confirming that she won’t be appearing in the third season. “If they ask me back in the future, who knows? For now, I am just really enjoying having new experiences and making films and we’ll see what happens.”