Daniel Francis On Lord Anderson & Lady Bridgerton’s Second Chance At Love

Bridgerton season 4 is finally here, with the first four episodes streaming now on Netflix. While the marriage mart – where young ladies in their 20s or even their teens make their debut – sits at the heart of the series, since its first outing Bridgerton has stretched and expanded to delve deeper into the lives of other, older members of the Ton, from Will and Alice Mondrich (Martins Imhangbe and Emma Naomi) to Lady Agatha Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) herself. And even if Benedict is at the centre of season 4, Violet has her own love story to navigate this season, too – and it’s all thanks to Lord Marcus Anderson who we first met in season 3.

We sat down with Daniel to delve deeper into this older, vulnerable ‘second chance’ punt at love, plus discuss his penchant for fantasy, his acting idols, and finding balance in a busy life.

Q&A: Daniel Francis On Bridgerton Season 4 (& More)

‘A lot of love and joy goes into creating Bridgerton.’ (© Pawel Pysz)

How is life going at the moment?

Life is good but crazy with a lot of stuff going on – which is how I like it. Never a dull moment!

Tell me how you’re feeling about Bridgeton season 4 coming out.

I’m just excited for the audience to finally see what the team has been working on for so long. You know, it takes an enormous amount of work to put Bridgerton together, and I just see it from the actor’s point of view! A lot of love and joy goes into creating it. And it’s exciting for the fans to finally be let into what we’ve been doing.

Bridgerton was already huge when you arrived in the Ton in season 3. What has it been like joining the cast?

I remember Martins [Imhangbe, aka Will Mondrich] said to me, ‘Just brace yourself!’ It’s bigger than you realise from the outside. Everywhere you go, someone has seen the show or knows someone who loves the show. I was out the other day and randomly met a fan from North Carolina. She asked me to sign an autograph for a friend back home, so I said: ‘You know what, let’s just do a quick video call.’ So we surprised her friend and I almost regretted it, because her friend was driving and almost crashed! She was so surprised and shocked. They were saying they’re going to do a viewing party, and she’s got her dress ready and they are buying china to sit down and watch the show with. It’s a beautiful thing to be a part of.

Is there anything you can tease about what you’re going to get up to as Lord Marcus Anderson this season?

This season we get to see the development of Lord Anderson and Lady Bridgerton’s thing. We don’t put labels on things anymore… But it is certainly a courtship – a nice, second chance romance playing out. That is yet to be determined, but you’ll see. It’s certainly a fun journey – a rollercoaster that we watch them go on.

‘I really appreciate Marcus and Violet’s vulnerability.’ (Daniel Francis as Lord Anderson & Ruth Gemmell as Lady Violet Bridgerton in Bridgerton season 4. Liam Daniel/Netflix © 2025)

It’s so refreshing to see that ‘second chance’, older love. Older than the debutants in the Ton, anyway! What was that like to build with Ruth Gemmell [aka Violet]?

I think it’s great. A large demographic of the show’s audience is closer to this age group. Even outside of that, I can’t remember the last time I heard someone say, ‘I met my first love, and that was it’. Most of us are starting again. Most of us have a relationship, and hopefully, fingers crossed, it goes well. But oftentimes people are having to start again, with varying degrees of difficulty. So to see that you can start again and you can grow, learn and be vulnerable again – open up again – is an important thing, and we see Violet go on this journey.

Any particular episodes or scenes you’re excited for fans to see?

The whole thing, but episode 4 was… Interesting. From a personal perspective.

Do you have any standout moments from filming?

There are some really beautiful moments between Marcus and Violet that we didn’t really get to see last season, because it was an early stage of the courtship. But their patience and the quality of their connection is very, very genuine, so exploring that with Ruth was a treat. 

I really appreciate their vulnerability. They have both loved in the past, but they are older now and having different experiences. However, they’ve also both lost, and because they have a real transparency with each other, it leads to some really beautiful moments.

Any standout filming locations? 

They rebuilt Bath on a soundstage at Shepperton Studios, which was quite phenomenal. Before we started filming season 4, I went through a costume fitting and I don’t think they were allowed to show anyone but they did sneak me around and I was able to get a glimpse of the construction and process. And they just built Bath! You walk through and you’re looking around and going, ‘This is incredible. This is actually incredible.’ 

Behind Bridgerton there’s a team of people that are highly skilled, highly imaginative, and they stop at nothing to create a world that hopefully the audience will love (and we’ve seen that they do!) but also one that you can get lost in and immersed in. And that’s the fun part. 

Who brings a really good energy or atmosphere to set?

Claudia Jessie. She is the OG. Most people will comment on how witty she is, and the energy she creates for the set is great. I love working with a team, and I think we’ve got a really great bunch of individuals on Bridgerton, but certainly Claudia is just funny as hell. 

Anything you can tease about potentially returning next season? 

It’s impossible to say and then stay alive. I’ll burst into flames.

MORE: What Do We Know About Bridgerton Season 5?

‘I want to work with actors I can learn from. That’s what I get excited about.’ (© Pawel Pysz)

What has been your favourite project to date? 

They’ve all given me different things for different reasons. I love the fantasy genre, and wherever I go, people stop me for an autograph or a photo because they recognise me from Once Upon a Time. I really enjoyed playing that role – it was just so much fun. Any role where there’s a greater distance of transformation, I love. I loved The Wheel of Time for the same reasons: the costume, the prosthetics, the makeup. Those opportunities are always the most immersive and fun.

Any roles in the pipeline that you’re excited about? (If you’re allowed to tell us!)

There are things I’m working on that I can’t really reveal at the moment, but it’s always just really about finding the right project that stretches me creatively and from an intellectual perspective as well.

Is there an actor you have worked with in the past that you learned a lot from?

Vincent Cassell and Eva Green – but you can find a lesson from any actor. I’m always just open to how people work. And, you know, I learned a lot from Ruth [Gemmel]. But working with Vincent and Eva was just a masterclass. Seeing them in action and playing alongside them was wonderful – a very special moment.

What’s a genre you’d like to do more of?

I love a good action movie – that level of intensity and high stakes drama, I absolutely love. And then these are harder to come by because they’re so damn expensive to create, but historical epics. Gladiator is one of my all time favourite films, and I was kind of gutted that I wasn’t in number two, in all honesty. I’ve just finished watching The Last Kingdom on Netflix, and I don’t know what it is about period epics that I love so much. There’s the value system – honour, integrity – and people had really strong principles guiding their lives. And there’s that principled warrior psychology, which I think is an important part of the male psyche.

‘I want to spend as much time with my son as humanly possible.’ (© Pawel Pysz)

Who is an actor, writer or director you’d love to work with?

I love Ryan Coogler’s work. I’ve been watching his stuff recently and absolutely loved it. Paul Thomas Anderson is obviously phenomenal; I love the richness of his work. And obviously there are actors who I would love to work with. When I was in the theatre, I said to my agents, ‘Listen, I want to remain a student as long as possible’. So actors like Daniel Day Lewis, Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellen, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman – or even younger actors like Christian Bale and Michael Fassbender – who I could learn from, and understand their process and the richness of their work. That’s what I get excited about.

How do you like to spend your down time? 

My little boy is my life. He’s three and a half now. I play tennis a lot, I play the piano, and I’m building businesses – buying companies, doing mergers and acquisitions. And I’m an advisor for a technology company as well – it’s a full on schedule!

How do you find balance in your personal and work lives?

It’s non-existent! There are certain non-negotiables for me. The test for everything, because I have a son, is that the juice has to be worth the squeeze. Anything that takes me away from my son has to be measured against the benefit to him, ultimately, as well. I design my life and make choices based on him. I want to spend as much time with him as humanly possible – while still working and providing a life, experiences and opportunities for him. So everything goes through that filter: is the juice worth the squeeze?

How do you think we can all live life a little bit better?

When I was younger, I used to think I had so many answers. Now as I get older – not that I’m old; I’m still a spring chicken! – I realise that I don’t know anything. What I do know is, the closer we get to our essence – our core, our intuition, the quiet but all-knowing part of ourselves – the more joy and success we experience. That’s how I’m endeavouring to live. And if we fall off the path, we shall get back on. But as long as we are endeavouring forward, then we will see more things unfold in alignment with our true nature.

Daniel Francis stars in Bridgerton season 4. The first four episodes are streaming now on Netflix.

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