A new leading man! While many of Bridgerton’s fan-favorite cast members were slated to return for the hotly anticipated second season of the regency drama, they were also joined by several new faces — including Dunkirk standout Calam Lynch.
“Calam Lynch is Theo Sharpe,” the official Shondaland Instagram account announced the 27-year-old England native’s casting in April 2021. “A hardworking printer’s assistant. But he’s not just a working class man, he’s also an intellectual who fights for the rights for all. 🐝”
Bridgerton, based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels of the same name, debuted its first season in December 2020 on Netflix to much fanfare. Season 2 followed on Friday, March 25.
“We have a bunch of new characters we are going to be introducing,” showrunner Chris Van Dusen said on the Today show in January 2021. “Anthony is going to have a love interest next season, and I think it’s going to be as sweeping and moving and as beautiful as viewers of the first season have come to expect from the show.”
While few details about the Derry Girls alum’s character have been revealed, he was briefly featured in the season 2 trailer. In the footage — released on March 9 — Lynch seemingly charmed Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) in a split-second appearance.
Most of season 2 is set to follow eldest brother Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and his quest for love. Inspired by Quinn’s second Bridgerton novel, The Viscount Who Loved Me, Anthony is set on marrying Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran) before her strong-willed sister Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) gets in his way.
While Lynch is new to the Ton, he caught the acting bug a few years earlier.
“Until I was 19 I was much more interested in football than acting but I’ve always loved stories,” the Oxford University grad told You Must Create in May 2021. “In fact, one of my favorite things about football is the narrative, the drama. And I think it was a matter of time before I gave it a proper go. As a kid, I really looked up to my cousin Max [Irons] so I think when he started acting professionally it made it seem like a much more [realistic] prospect.”
He further gushed about his career hopes, telling the outlet, “At this stage, it’s all about learning so that means doing [theater, film and television jobs]. There’s something really rewarding about the immediacy of theater but I’d love to do more screen work in the next couple of years.”
Scroll below to learn more about the Bridgerton newcomer: