Watch out, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). Lord Debling (Sam Phillips) is on the scene. Phillips joins the “Bridge-verse” as a new suitor for Penelope Featherington’s (Nicola Coughlan) hand in Bridgerton Season 3.

Below, Phillips tells TV Insider that Lord Debling is “shrouded in a bit of mystery” because he’s not featured in Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mister Bridgerton. Ahead of Part 1’s debut, Phillips teases his “complex” character and reveals why he’s excited to “challenge” Polin’s relationship.

How does it feel to join the Bridgerton universe? 

Sam Phillips: The Bridge-verse. It’s just exciting. I recognize globally how huge this is, and it’s just amazing to see how passionate the fans are from all corners of the earth. It’s nice to see on social media how crazy they’re going for the season and for Lord Debling and Penelope — Pebling’s — story. It’s great. It’s just such a joy to be part of that, so I’m very pleased to be part of the Bridge-verse.

Did you know when you were auditioning that Lord Debling was a new suitor for Penelope?

I didn’t. Sneaky Shondaland is very good at keeping everything super under wraps. I knew I had a scene to prepare. The character was called Lord Debling, but the character in the scene was not Penelope. I think it was like Lady Margaret or something like that. It was one scene where he’s just bumping into her in a park. It’s just a really sweet scene where you can see there is a connection there, so I didn’t have any idea he’d end up being who he becomes.

Have you ever previously auditioned for a role in Bridgerton? 

I hadn’t actually. This was my first time. I had friends that had gone up for it, and someone got very close to getting big old parts in it, but this was the first time I’d ever auditioned.

How do you feel about playing a new character created just for the show? 

It’s exciting because he’s not in the books. He’s shrouded in a bit of mystery. It’s quite exciting. There’s been no dialogue about we know this is going to happen. We know this is the arc of Debling. I love how there’s mystery, and I like that they get to see his journey because I love his journey.

Without giving too much away, who is Lord Debling? 

Other than the fact that he’s a lord, he’s someone who goes against the grain a bit. That’s how I feel about it. He sees himself as an outsider, and I think that there is a complexity to him. He’s not outlandish or very outgoing. I think he is the kind of person that stands in a corner at a ball. He doesn’t like all eyes on him, but he does like people like himself who he considers are not your typical members of the Ton. He’s complex and he’s thoughtful. He’s very grounded.

How does Lord Debling compare to Colin?

I think that Debling, as I said before, is more grounded, and I think Colin might be a bit more of an extrovert. He’s extroverted and is comfortable with all eyes on him. I think Debling wants to escape from the party, not be up until 4 a.m. drinking all the lemonade or whatever it is they’re doing. I think there is a maturity in him that I think Colin’s finding more in this season. I think Debling displays more of it from the outset. Debling is very sure of himself and who is he and what he wants.

The Polin fandom is very passionate. How do you feel about getting involved in their story?

I want to shake things up a bit. I’m excited. I love the idea that there’s someone to challenge that storyline because I think for a long time we have been waiting for that relationship to develop, and it’s great to be the person to come in and shake that up.

What was your first impression of Nicola? How has it been working alongside her? 

It’s been great. From day one, she came over and made me feel really welcome. She came to my trailer, knocked on my door, and was like, “Hi, I’m gonna play opposite you.” We were having discussions and rehearsing together and doing dance rehearsals with our amazing choreographer Jack Murphy. It was a really good time to get to know her while she was madly shooting. She’s just a really strong leader of the cast. It’s great that her and Luke have been such welcoming, strong leaders of all the new characters and everybody really.

Bridgerton, Season 3, Part 1 Premiere, Thursday, May 16, 2024, Netflix

Bridgerton, Season 3, Part 2 Premiere, Thursday, June 13, 2024, Netflix