Buzz
If you haven’t heard, the fourth chapter of the iconic Bridget Jones film series, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, is set for release next month, and fans are eagerly anticipating it.
For context, Bridget Jones's Diary was released in 2001, marking the moment when audiences fell for Renée Zellweger’s charmingly relatable portrayal of the London-based Bridget.
The sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, followed in 2004, and the critically acclaimed third film, Bridget Jones's Baby, came 12 years later in 2016.
These days, it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role of Bridget but Renée, even though public opinion wasn’t always on her side at first.
Many British viewers were initially outraged when the Texas-born actress was cast as Bridget, a character already so well-known in pop culture due to Helen Fielding’s books, which the movies are based on.
Fans of the novels worried that an American actress wouldn’t be able to master the English accent or capture Bridget's quintessential British nature. Names like Kate Winslet and Helena Bonham Carter were suggested as alternatives.
The backlash was so intense that Renée’s co-star Hugh Grant felt the need to defend her before filming began, telling Entertainment Weekly in May 2000: “I've met Renée a couple of times, and she is bang-on. She's very funny, and she's been living in England a long time now, mastering the accent. It'll be a triumph. I know it will."
To get ready for the role, 31-year-old Renée worked undercover at a publishing house in London. Since Bridget begins the first film as a publicity assistant at a publishing company, Renée wanted to experience what her character’s daily routine would be like.
This also gave her the chance to refine her English accent and immerse herself in British culture.
At this point in her career, Renée was already an established Hollywood star, having appeared in films like Jerry Maguire and Me, Myself & Irene.
Despite her fame, she was able to blend seamlessly into the office environment under a new identity.
In addition to assuming a new name — Bridget Cavendish — and pretending to be British, Renée gained a considerable amount of weight for the role, completely transforming her appearance.
In a recent interview with Hugh for Vogue magazine, Renée opened up about her time working undercover for 'a month or two' — recalling how she was shocked to come across harsh articles about herself while working at the publishing company.
Renée also shared a story about one of her colleagues failing to recognize her, even though they were reading a book with Renée’s face on the cover at the time.
“How did Bridget come about for you?” Hugh asked his longtime co-star in the interview. “There was quite a stir back then: ‘Oh, we can’t have an American playing this British icon.’ I remember that.”
“I first became aware of it when I was working at Picador,” Renée shared. “I went by ‘Bridget Cavendish’ because Jonathan Cavendish, the producer of the film, was close friends with the editor at Picador.”
“My role involved sorting newspaper clippings and filing them under Helen Fielding’s name, since they were about her. And that’s when I started clipping articles about this ‘terrible American actress’ who was going to play Bridget Jones,” she added.
Hugh then inquired if she was able to act “naturally” at Picador, or if her colleagues noticed “there’s the famous American Renée Zellweger walking around our office.” Renée firmly replied, “Nobody knew.”
“How could they not? You were already quite famous by then,” Hugh commented.
“I guess not,” Renée chuckled. “Maybe I seemed out of place, or perhaps it was because of my rounder face. It was strange. One of the women in the office was reading the Anna Quindlen book One True Thing, which had been adapted into a film [that I starred in], and I was on the book cover.”
“She was telling me all about finishing the book on the Tube on her way to work, raving about how wonderful it was,” Renée revealed.
In addition to her publishing house work, Renée met with voice and dialogue coach Barbara Berkery “three times a day” to perfect her accent, including sessions before work, at lunchtime, and either during or before dinner.
