An American in England:
Zellweger Is Jones

Once upon a time, before Bridget Jones the movie became such a global success, fans of the book were aghast when the role was given to an American actress with an incumbent southern drawl. Today, it is unthinkable to imagine anyone else playing Bridget. Quite simply, no Zellweger, no Bridget. “Renée, more than anybody, knows what Bridget would say or do,” lauds Hayward. “She has an innate understanding of this character, how she would behave, what she would say, what she wouldn’t say.”

“You simply can’t make Bridget without Renée!” exclaims Maguire.

When it comes to fans, Zellweger has as many fans behind the scenes as she does in front of it. Lauds Fellner: “Renée is the greatest comedienne of her generation. On top of that she’s also a brilliant actress; we’ve seen that through her dramatic work. Although we admired her enormously from afar when we were casting Bridget Jones 15 years ago, we never considered Renée Zellweger should play Bridget Jones because she’s American. When we met with her, she blew us away. Now she owns this character, and it’s impossible to envisage anyone else playing her.”

It was with Maguire that Zellweger first embarked on Bridget’s cinematic journey 15 years ago, and their coming together for the third installment felt like a fait accompli. “Renée has always loved the role and she, like us, was keen to revisit Bridget,” explains Hayward. “It’s a brilliant evocation of a literary character. Together, Renée and Sharon have created that character on screen. It’s a complete collaboration.”

“Renée has the ability to totally inhabit Bridget and also bring a softer side and emotion to that character,” continues Maguire. “She doesn’t just do comedy. It’s everything about her; the way she acts brings an extra layer of emotion and heart. She’s not afraid to project and unvarnished version of herself and has no vanity whatsoever. Combine that with a kind of Lucille Ball physical comedy that she has and loves. If there’s anything physical, she will wholly get behind it.”

“I can’t imagine a more exciting collaboration than the one that Sharon and I have shared,” agrees Zellweger. In the time that the performer has been playing Bridget, she has developed a deep fondness for the character. “I love her humanity” she says. “I love how authentic she is, how awkward her experiences can be. People relate to her because she is so imperfect, and somehow still manages to triumph in challenging situations. She refuses to give up. She’s self-effacing and faces her dilemmas with humour.”

For Zellweger much of the joy of returning to the world of Bridget was in revisiting not only Bridget herself, but the characters around her. “I wanted to know what happened to all of her friends and what Mum and Dad are doing, as well as where Bridget would be at this time in her life.”

Zellweger simply embodies Bridget, down to her impeccably genuine Home Counties accent. It is only when you see the performers at work that you appreciate how much work goes into becoming the character. The art of being Bridget lies in the subtle physical comedy, of which Zellweger is a master.

What first gave the performer the method to inhabit Bridget was the idea that her character’s thighs rub together and made a swishing noise when she wore tights. For Zellweger, that was a big cue for getting in character and getting her Bridget’s walk – slightly splay footed – down. It came with all sorts of clues as to how she would react.

“Clumsiness comes naturally to me for some reason,” laughs Zellweger. “The intentional clumsiness that is scripted is a lot of fun to play, especially when Sharon is around the corner laughing and shouting out how I might make it clumsier.”

She rightfully earned that respect from her co-stars. “Renée is possibly, more than any other actor I’ve ever known, a trouper,” says Firth. “She’s perpetually buoyant, indefatigable. She’s got long monologues, difficult bits of physical comedy and yet her preparedness is astounding. You’re not supposed to review what your fellow actor has just done; there’s a danger it can throw them off their game. But sometimes I was itching to tell her that what I just saw was genius.”

Becoming Bridget, however, is not an overnight transformation. Aside from weeks of rehearsals, Zellweger had intense vocal practice with her voice coach, BARBARA BERKERY. “She talks like Bridget, while she’s on set all the time,” shares Firth. “It’s very confusing at times to talk to Renée about anything from her own life back home. When she starts talking about life in Texas, with an accent as if she comes from Surrey it’s very hard to process…”

“A lot of work went into developing my accent with Barbara,” says Zellweger,” and I had to gain a little weight, but not as much as before. Sharon and the producers felt that it would be good to see Bridget having achieved one of her goals in life and also having evolved. She might not have it together in other areas of her life, but she’s making healthy lifestyle choices.”