Matthew Pieterse Talks Bridgerton Season 4 and His Role as Lord Taylor

Netflix’s royal family may have had the book of their lives closed, but Bridgerton fans are still carrying the torch. Now that Season 4 has been fully released, many are still in awe of where Benedict, Sophie, and the rest of the ton end up.

However, the Bridgerton family still had a lot to face when it came to permeating their relationships. For Francesca and Michaela, one of those obstacles came in the form of Lord Taylor, a charismatic and love-smitten socialite, played by Matthew Pieterse.

I recently had the chance to speak with Pieterse about portraying Lord Taylor, what inspired his performance, and how Season 4 truly is the “season of love.” (You can watch the video of the interview below.)

When Pieterse first auditioned for Bridgerton, he hadn’t read any of the previous books, but was familiar with the episode he starred in.

“I had the knowledge of the whole episode,” Pieterse began. “When I did my audition, the character names were changed because they wanted to reduce any forms of spoilers.”

“I knew in terms of that, this would be directly linked to something that would come out as spoilers.”

Pieterse had, in a way, manifested his casting after attending an official Bridgerton event.

“I went to one of them, and I took a picture,” Pieterse recalled. “Then, I posted it, and underneath I put ‘#manifest.’ That must’ve been two or three years ago, so manifesting kind of works.“

When Pieterse filmed his scene on Bridgerton Season 4 Episode 5, he found something about Lord Taylor that resonated with him. The most important element about his scene, as well as Season 4 as a whole, is the yearning.

“It’s the season of love,” Pieterse explained. “Everyone’s looking for love and places to fit in. I believe, from the scene and working with [Masali Baduza], you can tell straight away, he’s just captivated by Michaela and just how beautiful and stunning and a character she is.”

Watch the interview with Matthew Pieterse:

Even though he only appears in one episode of Bridgerton Season 4, Pieterse still reveled in the experience he had on set. The one moment that Pieterse says that he loved the most was the first time going to the Kilmartins’ house.

“I think it’s the first time we go on set,” Pieterse recalled. “I’m experiencing Kilmartin’s house for the first time, and you walk onto set, and it’s just incredible. All four of us stood together with the director, and we did a casual line run to ease through before a first take.”

“I think that’s my most cherished moment because I was like, ‘Ah! This is happening.’ It‘s just doing the thing that you do at drama school, and it’s on the biggest set on one of the biggest shows.”

Before Bridgerton Season 4, Pieterse starred in an indie film called Bleach, an LGBTQ+ indie film that is worlds away from the house of the ton. Pieterse discussed how this film helped him improve his own acting.

“With Bleach, I learned as an actor to give it, to just throw everything into it,” Pieterse said. “I put a lot of myself into the character Lloyd and in a way that [had] a really freeing and cathartic effect.”

“From Bleach to Bridgerton, you’ve got two different sets, hugely different. It’s all the same in terms of [putting] your all into it. As an actor, you want to honor these characters so much.” 

—

All episodes of Bridgerton Season 4 are now streaming on Netflix.

*Featured image credit: Jemima Marriott

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!