Daniel Francis Embraces His Sensitive Side as Bridgerton's Lord Marcus Anderson
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
When the first half of Bridgerton season three dropped last month, Daniel Francis was unprepared for the response to his character.
Francis, who joins the sprawling cast of the Netflix hit as Lord Marcus Anderson, Lady Danbury's brother and a possible love interest for Violet Bridgerton, tells T&C that the reaction has been "mad" and "mayhem"—in the best way possible. "It's insane," Francis says. It's such a loved show, so it's been fantastic."
The one thing that's surprised him the most: What he calls the "female reaction" to Marcus. His social media pages have been flooded with thirsty comments. "You don't really plan for that," he says with a laugh. "It's lovely and it's flattering, and you just handle it in a sober way and in a respectful way."
The outsized attention may be new to him, but he's proud of his work on Bridgerton, and the message of the show. "Especially in today's world, with what's going on globally, we all need love. There's no over spill of love—there's probably a shortage of that going around," he says. "Therefore to really be able to remember that at the core of our being, we all have this desire to give and receive love. That, for me, has been the blessing of this project, but also the character, at the core, it's about love."
Ahead of drop of Bridgerton season three, part two, Francis chatted with T&C about taking on a romantic role for the first time, worrying about fan approval, the power of representation, and what he hopes will happen between Marcus and Violet.
The blossoming romance between Marcus and Violet is a major part of his storyline this season. Why is it important to show "older" love stories on a show like Bridgerton?
Look, we're humans, and always—through our existence on this planet!—will always require love. So showing that, and really dramatizing that, is important because we've got a massive fan base. We've got a fan base that are all ages—the full spectrum. We have a fan base who want to see themselves represented and reflected. It's important showing love at all ranges of the spectrum. It gives hope [to see their story], if I'm completely honest. It gives hope because we're in such an ageist society, and our industry has been guilty of that—of just conveying the teenage love or the early twenties love. It's actually a necessary thing to show that we all need love and we all experience it at various ages.
What do you think draws Marcus to Violet?
She's a beautiful woman, and she's such like Ruth [Gemmell, who plays Violet]. Obviously as actors, we always bring ourselves through in some way, shape, or form. Ruth and Lady Bridgeton are very endearing; they're very sweet and very genuine. Marcus notices that immediately. There isn't the pretense that goes on with Lady Bridgeton. You can just tell that she's just very grounded and open, and at the same time, very vulnerable. They click immediately, there is this instantaneous connection and spark between them—it is subtle, but it's there, it's obvious. Very early in their conversation, they go pretty deep, pretty quickly in terms of the revelation of where they're at.
Whereas younger folk might play around a little bit, might act a little bit standoffish or play the game a bit more, they don't. People are so terrified these days of being seen; terrified of really revealing who they are, their wounds, their insecurities, and the things that they feel. Like, 'oh, if someone knew that about me, they'd run a mile.'With Marcus and Violet, quite early, they just show [themselves]: "Hey, mine wasn't a love match,' or 'My husband passed.' We know that really early about them, and we can see that vulnerability. And yet with that, there's still excitement and still interest between them.
In Julia Quinn's Bridgerton books, Violet has no love interest. Her one true love is her late husband, and there's no other romance for her. Were you worried about fan reaction to the show saying, 'Hey, there might be another love story for Violet'?
Bridgerton: Complete Collection Set
amazon.com
$108.00
In terms of my thinking of how the fans would react, mainly I was thinking, okay, well, she's such a loved character, and therefore if it ends up there with Marcus and Violet, which we don't know, but the fans are going to have to accept him at some point. That's challenging as an actor, because if you do things for fan approval, for audience approval, then you're dead in the water. You're not being true to the craft; you have to be true to the character, and you have to be true to the story and what's written on the page. But, there is an aspect of it where it's like, 'Does the audience resonate with him? Does the audience like him?' I can't predict that and I can't actively influence that. Or, if I try to influence that, then it is dead in the water.
The other thing is, which Shondaland, Shonda [Rhimes], and the creators did really well in Queen Charlotte, was give the hint that Lady Bridgerton's garden was in bloom.
And I remember talking to Ruth and Adjoa [Andoh, who plays Lady Danbury] about that scene because it was hilarious. It was a brilliantly written and brilliantly performed and delivered scene where [Violet] starts to reveal that for the first time, something's coming alive. And that's way before we even know that there's going to be Marcus in season three, and the potential of that. But they seeded the potential. So when we we see it in season three, then we go, 'oh, that makes sense!' It's already been hinted at.
A lot of people are actually genuinely rooting for her, because she's been such a devoted mother for her children, has been selfless in that regard. Anyone who's been watching Lady Bridgeton over these two seasons and Queen Charlotte goes, 'she deserves love too. We want her to have love, too.'
Speaking of Queen Charlotte, in the prequel, Lady Danbury reveals she's royalty from Sierra Leone. Did that backstory impact your understanding of Marcus?
Absolutely. It's the difference between old money versus new money—someone who is comfortable with their position, as opposed to having it bestowed on them in a new way. If you've grown up with that, it's a very different experience. It's centered in you in a very different way. That was a beautiful thing. And then also, being from Africa, that grounds someone in a different way, as opposed to being born and raised in a different country other than your heritage, and what impact that has on you as well.
There's some things are subtle and some things are not so subtle, but certainly as you are building the foundation and the fabric of the character that you're playing, knowing where they came from, knowing what their upbringing was, knowing what their background is... the difference between me, Daniel, as a inner city, south London, born and raised boy, versus a Daniel who may have been born in a countryside, the very foundation of my being would be different. The life experience would be different. Being from London and growing up where I grew up, my radar is 360 at all times, and I cannot switch it off, no matter where I go. I'm relaxed, I'm not under stress, you just grow up in a heightened sense of potential threat level. There's a different kind of awareness; even though you're not in an anxious state, we just know, these streets are a little bit more crazy. There's a little bit more dangerous shit that goes down, and therefore your awareness is just heightened. So, you look for those things in terms of building character because it influences you differently.
Something that's so beloved about Bridgerton is its commitment to telling diverse stories. As a Black British actor, what does it mean for you to be a leading romance character in a Regency romance?
I'll be honest, I probably shouldn't say this, but I will say it... When you think about the amount of period pieces that have been created by UK production companies, you don't see this type of representation. It's taken an American production company and streamer to go, 'actually, let's do it our way and let's represent.' You could say it's because Netflix has a global audience, and therefore they see the global demographics, et cetera. But I feel that there's something about America—and this is probably one of the things that I've always loved about going to America, about things seeming possible and things being bigger. There's a sense of innovation wherever you go, that we can do things differently. We can tell the stories that we want to tell, in the way that we want to tell it. And Shonda is prime example of that. There's a part of me that's like, this is wonderful and it is it great. I love dressing up, putting on these clothes.
In England, we're taught a very narrow aspect of Black history, which centers around slavery. That's 400 years; we've been around a loooong time. That's a sliver in comparison to the fullness of our history. So when you start going back, and even in those periods as well, we had royalty, we had nobles, in a different context. But even if you look at the Moors and how they traveled and what they brought over to Europe: There is decadence, there is elegance, there is sophistication, civilization, high education, science and math and chemistry, all these kinds of things. It's more about bringing more of the truth through, even if it's channeled through this vessel, but the stature of the characters is not a fabrication.
Does it make you want to see more period pieces that center Black history?
Yeah, especially for Black folk telling periods of history that weren't centered around the sliver of history that is slavery. Because the reality is these stories impact and shape psychologies; they impact and they shape self-esteem. When you see people that look like you in certain positions, then it does influence how you see yourself. I think it was Malcolm X who said, you can't hate the root without hating the fruit.
That's so important: If all you are shown is these people that were enslaved, which is an important part of the history, but if that's all you are shown, then you go, well, what were we doing before then? You have to go further back to understand the impact on civilization that Black folk have had, the impact on science and math that Black people have had. In doing that, you inform the psychology in a different way. You impact the psychology in a different way—of all people, this isn't just about black or white. It impacts everyone. It's a rich history, there's some fantastic stories that would be extremely popular with audiences globally.
I don't know if you can say if you're returning for Bridgerton season four or not yet, but if you are, what do you hope for Marcus in the fourth season?
I can't say, I can't say. I'd love to see the drama play out between these two characters and see how that develops and how it evolves. It's never smooth sailing with any kind of potential romance. Dealing with drama, I'd love to see how they make it, if that's where they go, if they do get together or not. And if not, why not? And if they do, what is the mountain that they climb to get there? Because the interesting thing is in the mountain—if we look at Colin and Penelope, it's a mountain that they're climbing. If we look at Anthony and Kate, it's a mountain that they're climbing. That's the only way it works. I'd be interested to see what mountain they create for these two characters to scale, and to see if they make it up there together or not.
Nicola Coughlan & Luke Newton Spill the Secrets Behind Season 3
30 Bridgerton Filming Locations to Visit in England
Everything We Know About Bridgerton Season 4
You Might Also Like
