‘IT STILL HURTS NOW’
BLACK BRIDGERTON STAR TELLS OF PAIN AT MISSING ROLE AS SUPERMAN’S GRANDAD
BRIDGERTON star Regé-Jean Page has told fans of his ‘hurt’ after it was claimed he missed a role as Superman’s grandad because he is black.
The Brit, 31, was said to have auditioned for the part in spin-off TV series Krypton before the makers decided the character had to resemble white Superman actor Henry Cavill and his screen-dad Russell Crowe.
Regé-Jean tweeted: ‘Hearing about these conversations hurts no less now than it did back then.
‘The clarifications almost hurt more tbh. Still just doing my thing. Still we do the work. We still fly.’ But the show’s maker DC Films insisted he never officially screen tested for the role of Seg-El.
In a statement it denied the Hollywood Reporter’s claim about co-founder Geoff Johns’s change of heart, and said the row was being ‘twisted’. ‘He never got to the stage where he would be selected by producers to be sent to the studio nor did he ever officially test,’ it read. ‘The role was for Superman’s grandfather.
‘The decision was made that the role was supposed to mirror Henry Cavill and his father which was played by Russell Crowe in the movie.
‘The actor being cast as such was supposed to resemble either actor. This is being twisted to be something it is not and someone throwing a name out there to get headlines.’ The part in the 2019 series eventually went to another British star, Cameron Cuffe, 28. The show ran for two series on the Syfy channel in the US.
Regé-Jean has also responded to speculation he could take over from Daniel Craig as the next James Bond.
‘Ah, the B word,’ he said. ‘I think if you are British and do anything of note, that other people take notice of, then people will start talking about that.
‘That’s fairly normal and I’m flattered to be in the category of Brits that people have noticed.’