Chiwetel Ejiofor Didn’t Really Meet Renée Zellweger Until ‘Bridget Jones’ Wrapped

Although he was a fan of Bridget Jones, Chiwetel Ejiofor never thought he’d play a role in the franchise. “Suddenly, something pops up and then somebody says to you, ‘Do you want to look at the new Bridget Jones film?’” he says. “And you think, Well, I’d never thought about that. I love Bridget Jones, but I’ve never thought about it in that context.”

And just like that, Ejiofor was cast as Mr. Wallaker, a pragmatic science teacher, in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, the fourth installment in the beloved romantic comedy franchise starring Renee Zellweger as the titular heroine, which hit Peacock on February 14.

In the film, the 12 Years a Slave star begins at odds with the recently widowed Bridget Jones, blowing his whistle with perhaps a bit too much force when she’s dropping off her children, Billy (Casper Knopf) and Mabel (Mila Jankovic), at school in the morning. “I love the fact that he was buttoned up with his whistle and this almost antagonistic character, initially,” Ejiofor says. “But then he reveals something, over the course of the film, that’s increasingly warm.”

Below, Ejiofor chats with Vanity Fair about age-gap relationships; writing, directing, and starring in work on Rob Peace (2024); and getting to know the American Zellweger when the press tour began.

Vanity Fair: What was your relationship to Bridget Jones going into Mad About the Boy?

Chiwetel Ejiofor: I thought Renée was so brilliant in it. I’d been familiar with her at that point really only from Jerry Maguire. And I remember how brilliant she was in that film. To see her in this kind of magical transformation into this English character was just really impressive.

As a British actor, what was it like watching Renée, who’s originally from Texas, transform and play an English person?

It was engaging because she didn’t really transform. From the moment that I met her she was in her Bridget Jones accent. She always came across as a British person. It’s only been when we’ve been doing press now that I have heard her actually as herself, as a Texan. Initially, it was sort of surprising, a bit odd. It’s like meeting somebody for the first time that you’ve actually been spending a lot of time with. It’s a bit discombobulating, but I suppose why it’s so convincing when she’s actually on camera.

So, even off camera when the cameras weren’t rolling she was doing a British accent?

Everything, all the time. And even on the phone calling home or whatever, if you happened to be near her, she would still be Bridget. It’s amazing. That’s why it feels like magic, what she does, because you definitely feel like you’re in the presence of Bridget Jones all the time.

There are definitely some Mr. Darcy elements to your character, Mr. Wallaker. How concerned were you in terms of bringing a fresh element to this franchise?