The 31-year-old British actor had a brief, uncredited cameo in part one of Harry and the Deathly Hallows, which hit theaters in 2011. Bill Weasley (Domhnall Gleeson) and Fleur Delacour (Clémence Poésy) host a wedding celebration at the start of the film, which is broken up by a Death Eater attack. Page stands next to Hermione (Emma Watson) and Mrs. Weasley (Julie Walters) for a moment before the event erupts into chaos and Hermione escapes with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Ron (Rupert Grint).

Following his minor Harry Potter scene, Page went on to nab a regular role in popular British series Waterloo Road in 2015. Now, he’s better known as Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, in Bridgerton, the first project from Shonda Rhimes‘ impressive deal with the streaming service. The show made its debut on Christmas Day and quickly became a huge success, putting a modern spin on classic period drama tropes.

Despite his new status as a Hollywood heartthrob, Page is trying to stay humble. “I try not to make that much of it,” he told CBS This Morning in December after Esquire dubbed him a leading man to watch for the next decade. “I think my head might explode if I try to think about that too long.”

Bridgerton caught viewers’ attention with its steamy story lines, but also made a big splash with its commitment to colorblind casting. While some have questioned whether the diverse group of actors is historically accurate to Regency-era London, Page believes it’s setting an important precedent.

“I think it’s great to include people in our storytelling in the 21st century,” he said last month. “I think we have a very long and sad tradition of excluding people from stories, excluding people from history — literally painting people out of historical pictures and documents. So, it’s the very least we can do to start painting people back in.”

Fans have been fascinated by the show’s unique portrayal of romance in the 19th century — and are convinced that the sparks flying between Simon and love interest Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) are just as real off-screen. However, Page brushed off the speculation when asked about the status of his relationship with his 25-year-old costar.

“I think that everything you need to know is on camera,” he told Access Hollywood earlier this month, crediting the “beautiful scripts” for creating their chemistry. “The sparky words, scripts and material are more than enough.”

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Meredith Nardino