Renée Zellweger has defended her titular character’s relationship with a younger man in the new Bridget Jones film as “nothing new” and said this onscreen trend could mean “social taboos are melting away”.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, based on The Independent columnist Helen Fielding’s 2013 book, sees Bridget Jones navigate “life as a widow and single mom with the help of her family, friends, and former lover Daniel. Back to work and on the apps, she is pursued by a younger man, and maybe – just maybe – her son’s science teacher”.
The film sees Zellweger reprising her role as the titular Bridget Jones and Hugh Grant returning as Daniel Cleaver.
Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays her son’s science teacher, and Leo Woodall are in the film as love interests for Bridget.
Speaking at the movie’s London premiere, Zellweger spoke about the age gap between her 51-year-old Bridget and Woodall’s 29-year-old Roxster.
“I mean, I think it’s nothing new,” she told Variety. “But maybe the social taboos are melting away… it’s never a bad thing. There’s certain things that we probably don’t need to have opinions about, and where people find love… why would that ever be a problem?”
Woodall echoed Zellweger, saying it was important to “get people used to it”. “It’s a real relationship that happens a lot and you know, we’re just not used to seeing it on screen.”
For fans upset that Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth in the previous three films, is no more, Zellweger said working with her two new leading men, Ejiofor and Woodall, made her feel like she was “spoiled for riches”.
“That’s not a bad day at work right there. Talented, wonderful fellas,” she said.
The conversation around Bridget’s relationship with Roxster comes months after the release of Babygirl, starring Nicole Kidman as Romy Mathis, a female CEO in her fifties who has an affair with a younger male intern.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Try for free
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Try for free
The role not only won Kidman the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival, it also garnered quite some praise for the “most erotic sex scene”.
Last year also saw Anne Hathaway receive praise for her performance in The Idea of You, in which she played divorced 40-year-old mother Solène who starts dating boy band member Hayes Campbell, played by Nicholas Galitzine, a man several years her junior.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy will be released in cinemas internationally on 12 February 2025 and will be available to stream on Peacock in the US beginning 13 February 2025.
