What Rege-Jean Page's Life Was Like Before He Got Famous

Ever since Bridgerton premiered on Netflix in December 2020, fans cannot stop discussing the show, particularly the chemistry between cast members, the costumes, and how it modernizes romance in the Regency era. The stars of Bridgerton are also receiving massive attention, with fans flocking to their social media accounts to find out more about them. Regé-Jean Page, in particular, has seen his popularity and fame rise with a hosting stint on Saturday Night Live and joining the cast of the Dungeons & Dragons movie (via Vulture).

With Page's rising popularity, it's not unusual for fans to want to know what his life was like pre-fame. Thankfully, the star — who plays the sexy and confident Duke of Hastings — has been pretty open about his upbringing and what it took for him to realize his dream as an actor. Keep scrolling to find out more about Page and his life before he got famous.

Rege-Jean Page got his start in acting by accident

According to InStyle, Regé-Jean Page grew up in Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom. He first stumbled into acting by accident, as a childhood hobby that filled his time and helped him make money for the latest Gameboy. Page landed his first role at a young age when he was cast as the Little Drummer Boy in his school's nativity play. "And oh how I played! Such drums, such playing!" he joked to Netflix's Queue & A. "I clearly had a career in musical theatre ahead of me and somewhere took a left turn and started getting all dour and serious and emotional broken dukes."

Page said that he pursued acting professionally because he didn't have any talent elsewhere and added that he had aspirations of being an explorer as a kid. "That was my first idea of what would be a really great thing to do in the world: to discover unknown things and pick around in them and see what you could bring back home to go 'Look! The world is bigger than you thought it was,'" Page explained to Queue & A.

Page eventually realized that acting gave him the same fulfillment, and he credits his family for giving him perspective. "Home is a relative concept," he told Interview Magazine in 2016. "Home is very much wherever it is that your people are and where you fit in. I spent my whole life figuring out how to be different people."