Bridget Jones star Leo Woodall we're all mad about ahead of new film release

A hero complex? Check. Likes Bridget just the way she is? Check. Emerging from the water in a wet white shirt? Check. Check. Check.

The new trailer for the long-anticipated Bridget Jones film was released this week and it’s definitely a good news / bad news situation.

For those who haven’t read the books by Helen Fielding, it may have been a surprise to see Bridget’s great love interest, Mark Darcy, has been killed off - in a heroic tragedy while fighting a human rights case abroad.

But while many will be reeling from their 24 years of rooting for Colin Firth, as the respectable Darcy - and many before when he played Mr Darcy in BBC’s Pride and Prejudice - there is one thing that might soften the blow.

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Clue: he’s posh, shy and, from the looks of this moment in the new trailer, he has already taken Darcy’s most iconic scene and made it his own.

For, the new film, released on Valentine’s Day, is all about grieving Bridget, played by Renee Zellweger, mending her heart with the help of 'Roxster’, her toyboy, played by one of UK’s hottest rising stars: Leo Woodhall, 28.

The book which mirrors author Helen’s own experience of being widowed with children, as Bridget finds herself suddenly a single mum to her and Mark’s two children, William and Mabel Darcy.

But for Leo, the film means trying to fill the void left by one of the 21st century’s most enduring romantic leads. It’s quite the task, but not one he shies away from.

He already sparked Hollywood interest earlier this year when he starred in Netflix’s new adaptation of David Nicholls’s heartbreaking 2009 novel One Day. His take on the smug but sweet playboy Dexter Mayhew opposite actress Ambika Bod’s straight-talking northerner Emma Morley, became one of the streamers biggest romcom hits.

Nicholls, who cast Leo in the role that turned him into a household name, has compared him to some of Hollywood’s hottest leading men in the mould of Robert Redford. Meanwhile leading lady Ambika revealed he had the charisma to match.

Calling him “cheeky and charming” she said the 28-year-old actor was a perfect match for her during their script reading. ”Leo was so open and warm just immediately and it felt really easy,” she said. “If that had been cast wrong, it would have been so much harder. You just can’t fake that stuff and I’m really grateful to have had an actor like Leo.”

Of his character Dexter Leo has said: . There was a lot of him that I think is definitely a heightened, much younger me that wanted to be cool and accepted. ”

And he’s now more than cool enough for our favourite movie heroine Bridget.

We can see why Bridget Jones producers would be Mad about This Boy - and it wouldn’t have been too much of an acting stretch for Leo to see the charms of an older lady either.

Granted, he may not have dated anyone who is in his fifties off-screen, but he is in a long-term relationship with the slightly older American actress

He met Meghann, 34, while filming his other major role to date - the Emmy-winning White Lotus. They were filming the second series in Sicily in 2022 and despite barely sharing any screen time, romance clearly bloomed as the pair reportedly began dating soon after filming wrapped.

Meghann who played the shallow trophy wife Daphne Sullivan in the HBO drama, and Leo became “Instagram official” earlier this year. Leo currently lives in north London with his older brother Gabriel but maintains a long distance romance with Meghann while she is based stateside. The pair avoid talking about each other publicly, but when asked about his love life in an interview last year, smitten Leo replied, “I’m a lucky boy. ”

So who is the man behind the face of the moment?

Born in Shepherds Bush, London, on September 14, 1996, Leo is the youngest of three siblings from a “fairly posh middle class” family of actors. Leo’s paternal grandmother was the daughter of a baronet no less. And in the actor’s own words he grew up a “bit spoilt”.

His father Andrew Woodhall has had roles in Casualty and Grantchester. He also starred as Imperial recruitment officer Drawd Munbrin in Solo: A Star Wars Story alongside Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke. Mum Jane, 62, also went to drama school.

After her divorce from Leo’s dad, she later married Alexander Morton, another actor, best known for his role as Golly Mackenzie in BBC series Monarch Of The Glen.

Leo is also a descendant on his mother’s side of the late silent-film actor Maxine Elliott who was a star in the 1910s.

But despite his comfortable background, he’s not always had it easy.

His teens were troubled “dark years”.

“I went to a s*** school”, he has said. “You know: violence.”

Leo has told how a classmate pinned him by his neck to a wall, another beat him in the chest, and how at a house party, someone threatened to stab him if he didn’t hand over a pair of gloves.

It resulted in the formerly cocking youngster becoming withdrawn and introverted, too anxious to leave the house.

At school, he says, he had to put on a character to survive.

“I started shaving my eyebrows,” he said. “I shaved my head. I wore a hood all the time, changed the way I talked. It was a kind of survival instinct, I think. To fit in. But I wasn’t nice. I lashed out. My mum was worried.”

Leo had originally wanted to be a sportsman until he watched Cillian Murphy play Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders. Then he decided to follow in his parents’ footsteps after all.

He landed a place at London’s prestigious Arts Educational School, which is backed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2019.

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, his acting teacher Mike Hayden describes Leo as “wonderful and charismatic” and is proud his talent is being recognised. It’s clear Bridget Jones will take him from a TV star to a real movie lead contender.

Mike says: “I had the pleasure of teaching Leo during his training here. Leo is a wonderful young man—humble, open, and generous.

“As an actor, he consistently pushed himself beyond his comfort zone, embracing risk and making bold, creative choices. He was an outstanding student and charismatic talent on screen.”

Leo didn’t immediately find success after graduation.

His early twenties he admits were spent doing mostly bar work. After several bit parts, including a blink and you’ll miss it turn in Holby City, in 2021 he was cast in spy series, Citadel, alongside Richard Madden and Pryanka Chopra before being catapulted to fame for his turn as Essex bad boy Jack in the second series of The White Lotus.

Initially portrayed as a charming cheeky chappie before his horrified love interest Portia played by Haley Lu Richardson discovers the truth - Jack on the surface - could have come straight out of The Only Way Is Essex casting.

“I’m not going to lie, when I did my audition I watched four videos of Joey Essex beforehand,” Leo has previously admitted.

He’ll have been watching a lot of Bridget movies too. He was born the year the first book was released and just four when the first film became a global hit.

So how will Leo fare against the other love interests in the fourth Bridget Jones film?

After skipping the third film Bridget Jones’s Baby, - though the actor said he only signed on when he knew Daniel was no longer all about “picking up young girls parties and sh****** them.”

“He’s still Daniel but I hope he now has added layers.” added Hugh.

Emma Thompson returns as Bridget’s doctor, joining Gemma Jones and Jim Broadbent and as Bridget’s mum and dad Pamela and Colin.

Hugh has stated that at 64, he is too old to play the love interest role, but Leo’s character may well have another rival for Bridget’s affections.

Love Actually starappears as Bridget’s children’s very charming schoolteacher Mr Wallaker.

But cinemagoers will no doubt be left mad about one boy.

His ArtsEd teacher Mike added: “We are hugely proud of Leo's achievements and the exciting trajectory of his career. All staff and students at ArtsEd eagerly await his latest performance in the upcoming Bridget Jones Film.”

And so are we.

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is is cinemas on February 14