Why Luke Thompson's Benedict Didn't Get the "Bridgerton GlowUp" for Season 4 Emily BurackFebruary 1, 2026 at 2:30 AM 0 The Bridgerton glowup is a muchdiscussed shift in the appearance of its leading men: Between seasons one and two, Jonathan Bailey's Anthony ditched his overgrown sideburns; between two and three, Luke Newton's Colin became a "sexy pirate." But for season four, no glowup was required for Luke Thompson's Benedict. Benedict "doesn't look that different" this season, showrunner Jess Brownell tells T&C.
- - Why Luke Thompson's Benedict Didn't Get the "Bridgerton Glow-Up" for Season 4
Emily BurackFebruary 1, 2026 at 2:30 AM
0
The Bridgerton glow-up is a much-discussed shift in the appearance of its leading men: Between seasons one and two, Jonathan Bailey's Anthony ditched his overgrown sideburns; between two and three, Luke Newton's Colin became a "sexy pirate." But for season four, no glow-up was required for Luke Thompson's Benedict.
Benedict "doesn't look that different" this season, showrunner Jess Brownell tells T&C. "I feel like because he's always been a charmer and a bit of a rake—the character has always been pretty glowed up. There is a moment in episode two where he kind of pulls himself together a little bit more and goes from being the scruffy romantic to being a more serious looking suitor, but he looks equally handsome as both." She adds, "There's not a dramatic before and after, but it's just a credit to Luke Thompson for being gorgeous."
Benedict in the second episode of Bridgerton season four. Netflix
Nic Collins, Bridgerton's lead hair and makeup designer, says they "softened" Thompson's look for season four. "In past seasons, he's had his hair tonged—so it looks much more set, and much more formal. So we decided to not do that [this season]," she told T&C on set during production of season four.
She continues, "He's got naturally curly hair. In the Regency period, all the hair pushes forward. They lost their wigs, so all men's hair is forward in this period to cover up the bald—because up until 10 years ago, they were all wearing wings. At the turn of the century, they [stopped] wearing them. So that is why the Regency period, all the hair swept forward. [Luke has] naturally curly hair, so we just naturally, with our fingers, tease it all forward, put some product in."
Thompson's glam ahead of a shooting day, then, was quite quick compared to some of his castmates. "He loves it," Collins says. "He absolutely loves it. He's even commented—he's gone from an hour and a half down to like 20 minutes." Another way they kept the glam time down, Collins says, is they were focused on his skincare. "We're really doing good skin prep with him," she says. "He's on a product that refreshes and brightens his skin, then he has a slight bit of tint put on him—that gives you a little glow."
Photo credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix
Season 1
Photo credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix
Season 2
Photo credit: netflix
Season 3
Photo credit: Netflix
Season 4
Benedict's style, too, changed ever so slightly. "Because of the story, we've loosened him up," says John Glaser, the costume designer. "He'll go back to being a little more classic Bridgerton, but we've changed his color palette to dark teals and blues."
He adds, Benedict is "not so much of a fancy Bridgerton boy as it is a hot Bridgeton boy—simpler open shirts, tighter pants, boots, all the things that young girls and young boys like to see." At the start of the season, "he's in the phase of being pretty cavalier, pretty open shirts. Open to the world."
Thompson for Town & Country's digital cover shoot, wearing a Ralph Lauren Purple Label sport coat, sweater, and trousers. Jenny Anderson
Stepping up to lead this season, Thompson tells T&C, was seamless after working on Bridgerton for years. "I'm so familiar with the world of Bridgeton and how it works," he says. "So much of this job is trust—I trusted that with the material we had, looking at the book, it's such a strong story. The whole Cinderella trope is such an evocative thing for everyone; it takes you back to childhood. So you have that, have the team behind Bridgeton, and you have this huge love and anticipation coming your way from a huge fan base and also just from millions of people around the world who watch this show."
He adds, "It's so rare in this job for the ingredients to be all there and you just get to be placed at the center of it. It was really just a really nice moment that I didn't feel any sort of pressure—the pressure's off when you're just being allowed to just play around in this world for eight months."
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Source: Entertainment
Published: January 31, 2026 at 05:36PM on Source: PRIME TIME
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