'Bridgerton' Star Victor Alli Feels the Pressure of Playing a Fan Favorite
Actor Victor Alli talks to L'OFFICIEL about playing fan-favorite John Stirling on Netflix's global hit series Bridgerton, working with Amy Adams, and the directors he wants to work with.
Photography: By Pip
Styling: Sarah Harrison
Grooming: Chad Maxwell using Augustinus Bader
A new love interest has officially entered the Bridgerton world. Actor Victor Alli was literally in the middle of a play when he found out he got cast as John Stirling on Netflix's global hit series Bridgerton. Alli had been auditioning for an undisclosed role in the third season, and got the call from his agent during intermission. For the rest of his performance, the job was top of mind.
Although relatively unknown, Alli, 28, has been working across film, television and theater for about a decade with small roles on shows including Andor and a role in the aforementioned play: a revival of The Glass Menagerie in London's West End opposite one Amy Adams. Alli (who says his first role was as Danny Zucko in Grease for a school play) credits his entrance into acting to his mischevious nature: a detention lead to him reading lines for a teacher, and he fell in love with the craft.
As Alli prepares for the world and devoted Bridgerton book series fans to see him play the shy but relentlessly charming John Stirling, a fan favorite due to his shyness and involvement in a complex romance as one of the love interests to Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd), he spoke to L'OFFICIEL about his career, his acting style, joining the phenomenon that is Bridgerton, and his dream jobs, all spoiler-free.
L’O: Tell me about yourself! Where are you from, and when did you become interested in acting?
VICTOR ALLI: I grew up in London. I've lived here all my life pretty much, and it's so weird talking about stuff, isn't it?
L’O: I'm so sorry I asked.
VA: I've always been quite interested in the arts and music and acting, especially music. I went to music school as a kid and played loads of different instruments and I thought that was my calling. I thought I was going to be a drummer and play for a band. I didn't go out hunting or trying to have a profession and be like, I want to be an actor. It just found me in a weird way.
L’O: How so?
VA: I was quite mischievous growing up. I wasn't naughty, I was just mischievous. I was like the class clown. I received many detentions. This one particular detention, the teacher who was conducting it was directing a play. The actor who was in the play didn't turn up, and so she hands me the script, threw it at me and was like, "Can you read?" I was like, "Yeah, of course I can read." I found out that I really, really enjoyed it. From there I then went to The BRIT School, it's a performing arts school. Amazing musicians and actors have gone there, Amy Winehouse, Adele. There, I discovered more about acting and Shakespeare and I loved it. It just happened.
L’O: What's your acting style?
L’O: Wow, I've never been asked this before. Do you know what? I'm still trying to figure that out because I've been quite fortunate to do a variety of different things. Obviously Bridgerton is very period and the time for that is way before anything modern. I went to drama school, and the good thing about going to drama school, it prepares you for any job. It gives you the tools and the toolbox, if you like, to take things out and use if and when. We did a lot of Shakespeare, a lot of Jacobean. It really did prepare me for doing a show like Bridgerton. Having the tools to do that and switch, whether it be an accent or movement or style in terms of how the character is and how the character is processing and relaying information… I think drama school prepared me for that. So I don't really know the style. I'd love to say that I'm a really nitty-gritty method actor, but I don't know yet. I don't know if I'm there.
L’O: Now that you brought up Bridgerton, do you want to tell me about how you got the role?
VA: Ooh, blimey. How did I get this role? So I was doing a play in the West End.
L’O: The Glass Menagerie?
VA: The Glass Menagerie. Yes, with one of my favorite actresses, Amy Adams. She's amazing. She's actually just an incredible person. She's just all about the work. Being around her was just a real treat into that whole world. I felt so disconnected from Hollywood, but she's so down to earth, she's not that at all, whatever that is, she's not uptight and whatever. She's just really, really normal. I know it's obvious, but it's quite nice and refreshing to see that.
"I was quite mischievous growing up. I wasn't naughty, I was just mischievous. I was like the class clown. I received many detentions."
L’O: So back to Bridgerton…
VA: I auditioned for the role, and I didn't know who I was going to play. It just gave a random vague name called James or something. Did the tape, I sent it, and I got a recall two days after. I did the chemistry read with Hannah Dodd, who's playing Francesca, and the following day I got the role. It was so quick. It was the quickest process ever.
L’O: That’s relatively painless then, that you're not just sitting on it for weeks.
VA: It made up for all the other times that I've had to wait long periods of time to hear anything back, so it was a real joy to get that information. I was on stage and it was during the intermission I found out. My agent called me and I was like, what? I couldn't even focus during the play. I kept on thinking about Bridgerton the whole time. I was like, what's going to happen? What am I doing? What's this role? As soon as I finished the play, the following day I was whisked away to costume and makeup and hair... It happened so fast.
L’O: Bridgerton is a global phenomenon. Did you feel any pressure going into it or did you approach it any other job?
VA: Oh, absolutely. I did feel a bit of pressure because when I found out who I was playing and that he's a book character, and the fans who have read the books have their idea of who this character's going to be. I saw this blog that was sent to me, and people have fan castings. People create their ideas of who they want to play John or who they want to play Michael, who they want to play different characters in the books. It's like, you're like, oh, man, it's me that's playing him and not Henry Cavill.
L’O: The fan casting is usually just the most hot, famous person that you can think of.
VA: Yeah, huge, big. I saw Henry Cavill, I'm like, oh, man. Oh, no. I hope they're not going to be let down when they see my face on the screen. It did make me chuckle. But yeah, there is pressure, but at the same time, because it's such an established show, because it's so loved by millions of people around the world, it makes it easier to come into it and trust the other actors and join this amazing ensemble. The writers have done a good job with the stories, and it just works. I feel way more confident now having done this season. Pressure, but then no pressure at the same time, so it's a weird combination.
L’O: How would you describe your character?
VA: John Sterling is very shy. He's an introvert around people he doesn't know. But then when he has that familiarity with you, he begins to open up and he's really charming and really thoughtful. He cares, and he's very specific. He cares. He's really caring. It's weird because even reading the character breakdown when I was auditioning it, I was like, oh, I resonate with a lot of these personality traits that John has, and it's basically me.
"John Stirling is very shy. He's an introvert around people he doesn't know. But then when he has that familiarity with you, he begins to open up and he's really charming and really thoughtful."
L’O: Why do you think the character's so popular with fans of the books? What's making them so excited to see this character in the show… and to fan cast Henry Cavill?
VA: It's really complicated. That's what I can say. People love John’s story because it's so real and it's so relatable and so complicated and it's not as easy as the other stories. It's not easy at all, and people love that. It’s really different, and I think it will provide a different narrative that's been told in the previous seasons. I'm not saying that the show isn't relatable and it's not human. It is. But this is going to be so heart-wrenching and so deep, and that's why people love it so much.
L’O: It seems like it's compared to the other seasons, maybe a romance that feels a little more modern.
VA: It is modern. With some relationships, for example, you don't really see the mess and the intense parts of what really goes on. This story John, Francesca and Michael, portrays that more than the other stories, maybe. But hey, I could be wrong.
L’O: Is there anyone that you love to work with? Any actors that you've always wanted to be on stage with?
VA: I had a list. I actually had a list. I made a list back in the day. There are a few, but I've been thinking about directors more. There's three directors that I really want to work with: Steve McQueen [Widows], Damien Chazelle [La La Land], and Celine Song [Past Lives].
