“Bridgerton” star was reportedly passed over for a role on the Syfy series because of his race
Photographed by Irvin Rivera
“Bridgerton” star Rege-Jean Page has responded to a report that he was passed over for a role on the series “Krypton” because of his race.
“Hearing about these conversations hurts no less now than it did back then. The clarifications almost hurt more tbh,” the actor wrote on Twitter Wednesday. “Still just doing my thing. Still we do the work. We still fly.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Page was up for a part in the Syfy prequel series as Superman’s grandfather Seg-El but was vetoed by former Warner Bros. executive Geoff Johns, who insisted that the role go to an actor racially consistent with Henry Cavill’s Superman from “Man of Steel.” The role instead went to “Florence Foster Jenkins” actor Cameron Cuffe.
“Regé is an inspiration to me and thousands of other artists,” Cuffe wrote in response to Page’s tweet. “No one should feel okay benefiting from individuals or institutions that treat their fellow humans so unjustly. Change must happen.”
“Krypton” debuted on Syfy in 2018 and ran two seasons before it was canceled. The detail that Page missed out on the role because he is Black came to light in a lengthy report on Tuesday detailing Ray Fisher’s public dispute with Warner Bros. over alleged misconduct on the set of “Justice League.” A rep for Johns told THR that fans expected the character of Seg-El to resemble Cavill and denied allegations of misconduct or discrimination.
Fisher pushed back on Johns’ reasoning in his own tweet, noting that the “Krypton” characters related to Michael Shannon’s General Zod in “Man of Steel,” were played by actors of color.
Page’s breakout role came late last year when he starred as Simon Basset, a.k.a the Duke of Hastings, in Netflix’s period romance “Bridgerton.” Page announced last week that he would not return to the series for its second season, which will change focus to a different set of main characters.
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