Victor Alli‘s casting as John Stirling wasn’t revealed until the first half of Season 3 premiered earlier this month — it was also a spoiler we weren’t allowed to divulge! — but now that Alli’s officially made his debut on Bridgerton this month, we had the opportunity to catch up with him for a chat about joining the series. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, Alli discusses whether he knew who he was auditioning for before he was cast, what he enjoyed about playing through the intricacies of Francesca and John’s romance with Dodd, why he wanted to read the book and discover where John ends up, and more.
Victor Alli Auditioned for ‘Bridgerton’ More Than Once
COLLIDER: I’ve seen Hannah [Dodd] talk about how she didn’t know she was auditioning for Bridgerton when she auditioned for Francesca. Was it the same for you?
VICTOR ALLI: I knew it was the show, but I didn’t know who it was that I was auditioning for. I think the audition sides said “James,” or something really random. I auditioned for it the year before for a different character, and then I didn’t get the role. It was quite nice then, discovering that he’s a book character. That was interesting.
Did you not learn who you were really playing until after you got the part?
ALLI: Yeah. The discovery of that after was… I was really excited that I got the role, but then really scared and nervous. All the fear came in when I discovered it was John Stirling. I did more research and I read some of the books, especially Francesca’s book that he’s in. When I did the chemistry read with Hannah, knowing that she was gonna be playing [Francesca], I thought, “Oh, gosh, it’s a lot bigger than I thought.”
What was the takeaway from your dynamic with Hannah during that initial chemistry read? What kinds of scenes were the two of you reading through together? Were they anything close to what we get in Season 3?
ALLI: You’d be surprised! We had two scenes, and one was Episode 5 when John meets Anthony and Kate for the first time, and he’s telling them a story about his muddy boots. That’s the scene that they used for chemistry, which is quite interesting. I guess they wanted to see how we worked together and how we gelled in the scene, in that sense. I was doing a play, actually, in the West End, and then I went to do this chemistry read, and I was thinking about the show the whole time. “I’m gonna go on stage, I’ve gotta do this show tonight, and I need to just stay focused.” But then I had this audition, and I was like, “I’ve got to give my attention to this.”
But then I bumped into [showrunner] Jess [Brownell] in the toilet. [Laughs] It was random. I didn’t know who she was — she obviously knew who I was — and then I met her in a room, and I was like, “It’s you!” Hannah, she was just chill, and she had this really cool aura about her. Even though she had started filming, she told me it felt like she was still auditioning for the show all over again. It was just quite nice, and I really enjoyed working with her, and I’d hoped to work with her again. I was quite lucky to get a role.
You get the role, and they’re keeping your casting under wraps for a very long time. At least trying to keep you under wraps.
ALLI: It was 2022. It’s been a few years. [Laughs]
But things happen, leaks happen, pictures obviously end up on the internet during filming. How difficult was that for you, when there’s evidence out there? Were you getting calls or texts from people, and then having to lie?
ALLI: Oh, yeah. That was literally what I had to do. I had friends, even some family, that I had to completely say no to. I was like, “I don’t know who that is. I wish that was me. I would love to do that. That would be great.” But it was really hard. There was a small bunch of people who I obviously had to tell, like family and a couple of friends, and I said, “You cannot say a thing.” They were quite good at keeping that all hush-hush.
But it was really, really hard — to the point where I started to doubt that I was in the show. I was like, “Oh, is this actually gonna happen? Is it gonna actually release? Are they gonna show my scenes?” But also, the anticipation of it all was quite nice. There was no pressure, I suppose. Because you tell someone you’re in a show, and they’re like, “Oh my gosh, I can’t wait for it to come out!” I didn’t have to worry about that. I didn’t have to worry about the anticipation or everyone else. I just shot it, I knew I was in it, and then when it comes out, it comes out.
There’s More Story To Be Told for Francesca and John in ‘Bridgerton’
You said you’d read When He Was Wicked, and given that readers know the trajectory of his story and where it’s headed, how much do you really let that inform your performance? Or do you just want to know his future for your own edification, and then what’s in the show is in the show?
ALLI: I was just really curious. When I discovered that I was playing a character called John Stirling and he had a cousin, I just wanted to know what it was about. Jess said that he was a beloved book character, and I thought, “Oh, gosh, okay, he’s not made-up, he’s real.” So I thought, “Why not?” There wasn’t a lot in terms of character description on John Stirling, but the story, and obviously the journey and the arc of the character, is what I followed.
In this season, there isn’t a lot that is revealed. Yes, we’re introduced to John, but there’s still so much story to be told post-this season. But I found it really interesting. With the relationship between Francesca and John, I just wanted to see how that could inform decisions that I made or would make at the time as John. But also, the writers do such a good job. They were able to take a bit of information and completely expand that, and it gives me just so much scope, and it allows me to build this world in which the characters are in.
There are some actors who don’t like to read the story or don’t want to know anything when they go into it, but, for me personally, I found it quite useful. The books are really interesting, and it’s amazing how close the TV show is to the books. Kudos to the writers. They do such a good job of keeping in line with what the books are.
You and Hannah get to craft this romance that unfolds somewhat in the background of Season 3 but feels like it’s planting the seeds for what this story becomes. Was there anything in the moment that the two of you found while filming that surprised you?
ALLI: Even just after the chemistry read and then being on set and working with her, we just developed a cool friendship. It was just really open, and it was easy to share ideas about what we thought of the characters and decisions that we were making. There were moments where I was like, “Okay, I don’t really know what I do in this moment. What would John do?” And she was like, “I think John would do this,” and I was like, “That’s a good idea. That’s a really good, good shout.” Just being able to take advice from each other when we felt stuck.
Even in our scenes, there were moments where, obviously, we’re both quite new to the season, and so it was quite nice to have someone who could also guide me along, or we could guide each other. It was really fun, and I felt safe, and confident. Francesca, in general, helps John come out of his shell, and he helps her come out of her shell. They’re quite introverted, and they help each other to be more open. That was quite reminiscent of our friendship, as well, as Victor and Hannah.
John seems to embrace a different type of masculinity from what we’ve seen in other characters in Bridgerton. Like you said, he’s introverted, he’s very internal. Was that something that drew you to the role as well?
ALLI: Absolutely. Yeah, that was it. When I read the sides and more of the script, I was just really pleasantly surprised by how their love story evolves. It’s not massive smoke and fireworks and ripping clothes off. It’s just a really soft, gentle process. It gradually progresses, and you can see the subtle details, and so much is communicated without words. That’s what I loved about Francesca and John’s story. It was so different from Daphne and Simon, from Anthony and Kate, so different from Polin this season. I like the unconventionalness of it all. Those relationships are equally important. They also exist. They’re real. People actually have relationships like that, and it’s quite nice to highlight that as well as the strong affection that we see a lot in Bridgerton. It’s nice to show the difference, the antithesis.
