We finally sleep with exactly how Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan broke a piece of furniture while film this gender scene .
🐝 There are obviously MASSIVE spoilers in the lead forBridgertonSeason 3 ! 🐝
It’s officiallyBridgertonseason, and frankly, I have thought about nothing else for weeks. This new season focused on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) finally realizing his feelings for Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan).
Their friends-to-lovers story has been so incredible to watch, with Part 1 of the season focusing on them finally acting on their feelings, notably inthe carriage scene. And then, Part 2 centered on Colin finding out Pen’s Lady Whistledown secret and how it impacts their relationship leading up to and after their wedding.
However, before we got to the angst, Episode 5, titled “Tick Tock,” included another sexy and highly-anticipated scene from Julia Quinn’s novelRomancing Mister Bridgerton: the mirror scene.
Like the carriage scene, the mirror scene is another moment between Colin and Penelope from the book, where Colin tells her, “I want to do it in front of a mirror,” but then they determine to do it “later.” Now, the series actually shows the intimate moment.
So, here are just 15 behind-the-scenes facts about the making of this iconicBridgertonmoment:
1.First, speaking about bringing the mirror scene to life in the series, as opposed to it just being alluded to in the book, showrunner Jess Brownellsaidshe and the writers knew fans loved the line and they “wanted to honor it.”
2.Both Luke and Nicola worked extensively with the show’s intimacy coordinator, Lizzy Talbot, leading up to their sex scenes, most notably the mirror scene. “You go, OK, what do I want to show? What don’t I want to show? What’s scripted, and what do I want to add?” Nicolatold Stylist.
3.For the scene, Nicola said she asked to be “very naked on camera.” She elaborated,telling Stylist, “That was my idea, my choice. It just felt like the biggest ‘fuck you’ to all the conversation surrounding my body; it was amazingly empowering.”
4.In fact, both Luke and Nicola “decided entirely” what they wanted to show on camera during the mirror scene. Nicolaexplainedthey had “a lot of say” in how the scene was filmed, and they decided they wanted to undress in front of the mirror.
5.Prior to filming, theBridgertoncostume department sent Nicola a piece of intimacy wear, which was basically a “strapless thong that would cover the bare essentials,” to try on. Nicolatold the LA Timesshe had a margarita and “summoned the liquid courage” to try it on for the first time.
6.Meanwhile, Luke explained he was wearing a “cup, bag-shaped thing” for his intimacy wear, and he knew Nicola would laugh the first time she saw him in it. So before filming, he asked if it was okay to show her, and they “had a little giggle” off screen.
7.TheBridgertonteam filmed the mirror scene over three days, with the first day centered on Penelope undressing in front of Colin. Lukesaidhe was focused on “supporting Nic” during that first day to make sure she was “comfortable on set and in that environment.”
8.Luke and Nicola were very comfortable with each other while filming their sex scenes, with Nicolatelling the LA Times, “By the end of the day, we were both lying under a blanket, not clothed, just chillin'.”
9.Nicola and Luke notably broke the chaise lounge where the sex scene takes place. Lukerecalled to Vanity Fair, “Our director at the time took a step back and said, ‘Right. Let’s just mix it up, this take, and let’s really sort of go for this one. Let’s up the energy basically, and up the stakes.’ Then I think we were maybe 20 seconds in, and one of the legs just completely snapped off.”
10.After the chaise lounge was broken, the production team had to devise a way to prop it up while they finished filming. So, they used several apple boxes and other stuff to “secure” the furniture.
11.Nicola had to have two wigs while filming the steamy mirror scene inBridgerton. Sheexplained to Capital FM, “I had to have two wigs, that’s how sexy that scene is.”
12.Lukesaidthe “awkward moment” when preparing for the mirror scene was when his makeup artist “came into [his] trailer to tan [his] full body.” Due to how much of Luke’s body is seen on screen, all he was wearing while getting spray-tanned was a cup.
13.Nicolasaidher favorite line fromRomancing Mister Bridgertonwas always when Pen tells Colin, “Do I look a mess?” and he responds with, “But you’re my mess.” The exact quotes made it into Season 3 during the mirror scene.
14.Showrunner Jess Brownell explained that setting Colin and Penelope’s first big intimacy scene around the mirror helped the series lean into the theme for the season: which version of yourself you present to the world vs. who you really are on the inside.
15.And finally, given the timeline of events, showrunner Jess Brownellsaidthe mirror scene is when Colin and Penelope conceived their baby boy, who is present in the final scene of the season.
All episodes ofBridgertonSeason 3 arestreaming now on Netflix.
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