“I have no regrets”: the Australian actor who turned down the chance to play a Borough Market icon
One of the biggest questions plaguing rom-com lovers has long been this – how the hell did Bridget Jones afford to live in Borough Market?
Despite the fact that she worked as a junior publisher, Jones was able to live at 8 Bedale Street, right by London Bridge, in Zone 1, on her own. While the actual location is a three-bed that went up for sale in 2017 for a rather pricey £700,000, Jones’ home was supposedly a rather affordable one-bed. Regardless of whether she would’ve actually been able to afford the place or not, it has become a pretty iconic rom-com home, the ultimate haven of cosy 2000s Britishness, with shabby chic decor and easy links to the rest of the city.
Jones’ Borough Market home is a symbol of independence; she might be stuck between love interests, but she’s the 21st century’s modern woman – capable of owning her own lovely flat in London, with a good job to boot, and the character has become a British icon, but of course, it was Renee Zellweger who took on the part, fooling many audiences into believing that she was actually a Londoner herself.
Yet, Zellweger is from Texas, she just managed to execute a pretty convincing accent, leaving many people shocked to discover her true Americanness, with the actor earning an Academy Award nomination for her performance, too, and it really put her on the map, soon leading to more roles in the likes of Chicago and Cold Mountain.
Yet, she was in the running alongside other actors for the part, one of them being a fellow star who called another country home. It was the Australian actor Toni Collette who ultimately turned the role down for several reasons, but this decision luckily didn’t hinder her career prospects. Having made waves in the rather tragic comedy Muriel’s Wedding in 1994, Collette wound up with an Oscar nomination for The Sixth Sense a few years later, which was also when she took to the stage on Broadway for a part in The Wild Party.
Her career was getting more exciting by the day, and Collette could only take on so many roles – Bridget Jones’s Diary was one she just had no choice but to turn down, mainly because filming clashed with her time on Broadway.
That wasn’t the only reason, however. She told Watch What Happens Live, “I wasn’t available. But sometimes I think about it, and I think, I don’t know, that character’s so similar to Muriel. It might’ve been too close. And I try not to repeat myself.”
Colette ultimately knew that this was the right decision, even though Bridget Jones would soon become one of the most beloved rom-com characters to ever grace our screens. “I think there are no coincidences. Anything that’s meant for you in life is meant to happen. I have no regrets – life happens as it’s meant to,” she explained.
Bridget Jones’s Diary, which was adapted from Helen Fielding’s hit book, spawned three sequels, and it remains Zellweger’s most recognisable role. Colette will always have Muriel, though.
