At the start of the New Year, 32-year-old Bridget (Renée Zellweger) decides it’s time to take control of her life — and start keeping a diary. Now, the most provocative, erotic and hysterical book on her bedside table is the one she’s writing. With a taste for adventure, and an opinion on every subject – from exercise to men to food to sex and everything in between – she’s turning the page on a whole new life. The role earned Zellweger her first Academy Award nomination, along with Golden Globe, SAG, and BAFTA nominations. Directed by Sharon Maguire (Bridget Jones’s Baby).
After the Screening: A conversation featuring director Sharon Maguire and Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and SAG Award winner Renée Zellweger, who recently starred in and served as Executive Producer for Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025), the fourth and final installment of the Bridget Jones franchise, moderated by H Alan Scott.
Q&A with Director Sharon Maguire and Actress Renée Zellweger
Q : Bridget Jones’s Diary was a massive book in the UK, there was a lot of talk about the film and who would be cast, everyone assumed it would be a British woman. You were largely unaware of a lot of the noise, ’cause you had a job to do. Sharon, I went back and looked at interviews. There was an interview that you gave that said you would know the right Bridget when she came in the door, and that you found her when you saw Renée. But then afterwards you said to yourself, “Oh, fuck, she’s from Texas.” What do you make of that whole uproar over the casting of Renee?
Sharon Maguire : We have quite vicious tabloids in our country, they were just outraged that an American would play this beloved English character. We knew there was a lot on our shoulders, and I remember, how are we gonna get this accent right? And I remember the first time, we had the read-through, and all the producers were saying to me, “Have you heard the accent? Have you heard the accent? Can she do it?” And I went “Yeah.”
It came to Renée’s line, and because she had a sore throat, and everyone was just staring at me like, “What’s going on?” And so we didn’t know. We came out of that read-through none the wiser as to whether she could do it or not. But it went-
Renée Zellweger : I didn’t know that. I didn’t know you guys got scared.
Sharon Maguire: They had me pinned in a corner saying, “I thought you said she could do it.” And I was like, “she’s got a sore throat”, so it was a bit scary.
Q : At the time with all of the press around it, Renée, when people were comparing the casting of you as Bridget to the uproar of the casting when Vivien Leigh was cast as Scarlett O’Hara.
And the fact that Vivien did it, when Gone With the Wind came out, everyone was like, “Oh, okay, yeah, Vivien gets it.” And the same thing happened with you. You were immediately accepted as the only Bridget Jones.
(Audience) : Woo…
Q : Say, “Told you”..
Renée Zellweger: It’s really special. Thank you. That’s really special.
Q : I don’t think a lot of people realize about this production, there was a lot of talk before the film even was about. Sharon, this was your first feature film. For a woman in 2001 to be trusted with this big of a project it was unheard of back then. What do you make of how bold of a moment that was for you?
Sharon Maguire : Yeah, I was unaware. I had many sleepless nights, but I was unaware of how panicked the producers must have been because, for a movie, it was 46 million pounds I’m in charge of. I had a job to do, and I was a documentarian before that, so I was around cameras. I’m used to that, but not used to working with Hollywood,
Renée Zellweger : Me either.
Sharon Maguire : I remember the first meeting that I had with Hugh Grant, and he was the biggest movie star on the planet at the time. And I went to see him, and he said, “So what are you gonna do with this film?” And I said I extolled my lofty vision of the movie, and I mentioned “The Apartment”, And at the end of which, he said, “It’d be funny.”
Q : It will be..
Sharon Maguire : Yeah. I just thought, “I don’t know what directors are supposed to say to big actors,” but I got it quite wrong, obviously.
Q : Renée, you both had done notable work before “Bridget Jones Diary”, but “Bridget Jones diary” was the catapult your first Oscar nomination. It set the stage for you as a powerhouse as a performer in Hollywood. You became a superstar. What impact do you feel that “Bridget Jones Diary”, the first film, but the character itself, has had on your career?
Renée Zellweger : Changed my life and in common with people everywhere in the world. I don’t think that we thought at that moment, making the film, that it was, that would be the effect that it had something like that. That you don’t meet a stranger anymore. You meet people and they tell you no, you’re not Bridget, “I’m Bridget” and everybody shares their Bridget Jones stories with you.
Q : Sharon, when you were doing this film, did you have a sense as the film was being released and people were first seeing it that this was gonna be a career defining role?
Sharon Maguire : I did realize… we only finished the film, minutes before it started premiering.
Q : Really?
Sharon Maguire: Yeah. So I had no idea that-
Q : Like Click of a Turner.
Sharon Maguire : Yeah, there were press screenings happening with a really bad print of the movie. And I remember one of the producers saying “We’ve just had a critics thing, and some of them stood up at the end and clapped.” So I thought then, this might be working, but no idea. And Hugh hadn’t seen the movie, and he was sitting behind me, and I got this tap on the back, and he said, “Shaz, this is actually quite good.”
Sharon Maguire : I was like, “Thanks.” Then two minutes later, he said, “You know what’s worse? Mrs. Firth is actually better than me.” They called each other Mrs. Firth and Mrs. Grant, And seeing it in New York, the New York audience who seemed to love it, that was a pinch me moment for me. And it was a movie, I look at it now, it’s a movie that celebrates failure.
Yeah. It celebrates, alcohol abuse, smoking, failed relationships, and it redefined things in that sense. Rom-coms before that always had sort of aspirational heroines who were polished, and this celebrated messy, ordinary people’s lives. Yeah. Not that it was, it’s not a kitchen sink drama.
There’s a lot of fairy tale in it, I say that as a woman in her 30s at the time who didn’t have Hugh Grant or Colin Firth banging down my door. But it did, it was about ordinary people’s, it validated ordinary women’s lives. Yeah. And it was about a woman. It was conceived by a woman, Helen Fielding, and directed by a woman.
Q : Yeah.
Sharon Maguire : It worked.
Q : We should talk about Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, because in 2001, Hugh Grant, like you said, biggest star in the world. This character was not the character Hugh Grant would typically play. He was “Notting Hill” romantic lead. He was that guy, and this guy, a dick. And Colin Firth, on the opposite, was… He literally went from playing the Darcy in the most famous “Pride and Prejudice”, to do essentially the same character in this film. It was so interesting that the men in this were almost irrelevant, but not really. It was all about you. So what was it like working with these two men at that time in their careers?
Renée Zellweger : It’s a big one. I was a big fan of Hugh’s. I lived in a dormitory in Austin at the University of Texas. Independent movie theater, and I would go downstairs, and I would see independent films from England.
And I saw him in “Maurice”. Yeah, and when they go to the countryside, “Circle of the Eye”, in something- Open Heart.
Q : No..
Renée Zellweger : It was nothing like Open Heart. What was it?
Q : Impromptu.
Renée Zellweger : For the win.
Q : He was hot
Renée Zellweger : He
Q : He’s hot in all of them.
Renée Zellweger : Everything.
Q : Even Willy Wonka.
Renée Zellweger : Yeah, I was awkward, and terrified to meet him. And we sat at a pub after rehearsal the first day, and I couldn’t say a word. Yeah, I think he thought that I was Bridget Jones for the first-20 years. Yeah. I think he was really shocked when he heard that, I could put a sentence together pretty competently.
Oh, boy. And Colin is so sweet. I’ll never forget, the 3:00 AM, nights in the rain, sat on the curb outside the flower market in Borough Market, outside Bridget’s apartment. They’re great guys. Genuine, and kind, and so talented.
Q : Yeah.
Renée Zellweger : As soon as I got over that.
Q : What was it about casting them ’cause you were familiar with their work and were fans, but this was different types of characters for them. At least Hugh.
Sharon Maguire : Yeah. We were very aware that Hugh was gonna play a dick, and, he is a sexy bastard.
And he did yell at me. And he did it really well. Yeah. And yeah, the Colin thing was a kind of bit meta, because he was Mr. Darcy, and then plays Mr. Darcy. Colin always says, “Which of the five faces of Colin Firth do you want me to do this time?”
And I do emotional constipation. I do and I’ll go maybe we could go to six or seven.” But he said, “No, It’s not gonna work.” But I was very aware that, my God it’s… Oh, God, just a thousand humiliations. As I was watching from the back there, a thousand humiliations came.
Watching the audience, the amazing audience, the scene where you say, “I love you” to Colin at the party. I remember you were in makeup. They asked me to stand in just so the camera could get the mark. And I was in love with Colin. The whole nation was in love with Colin.
Q : Oh, god …
Sharon Maguire : And I had to say, “I love you.” My ears, my ankles, everything went red. The whole cast, including Colin, burst out laughing. it’s, I’m busted, yeah. So that’s what it was like, wow. But I had to pretend I was really professional. It’s Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, for God’s sake, yeah.
Q : Another thing that I think about when I look back at 2001, and the big topic of conversation with Bridget Jones is, why the hell were we so stupid to think that Bridget Jones was plus size? What was wrong with us? 2001. It’s such a big deal. The entire focus, the entire press tour was always just talking about 20 pounds, it was ridiculous. So I wanna know from both of you, Renée, like you as an actor, your image is often so scrutinized in a way that becomes the narrative when it really should be about the work. What was it like for you to be navigating at that, at young point in your career, that kind of conversation about your body?
Renée Zellweger : I think the fixation on it goes back to what Sharon said earlier, that romantic comedy heroines are polished in particular paradigm for beauty and this was not the paradigm.
She was a normal girl, and she looked like her lifestyle, she liked to have an extra helping, and she liked her Chardonnay. And she didn’t go to the gym every day, and she’s gorgeous anyway, she gets the guy anyway. And maybe more so because she’s so very herself that it makes her more attractive. I love this character, and when people talk about the weight, I don’t think of her as a person who is nothing to fix.
Sharon Maguire : Yeah.
Renée Zellweger : She just looks like her life, and- we’re friends. I’m a runner, that’s it.
Sharon Maguire : Yeah.
Renée Zellweger : I love her just the way she is. But it’s true, and I think it shifted our expectations for what a leading lady can look like.
Sharon Maguire : Yeah.
Renée Zellweger : Can I tell you guys, it’s so liberating. I loved it. I loved that I could cry and my mascara can run, and nobody was running in with the little thing to make me not shiny. And I could have a running snotty nose when I cried, like what happens in real life, and the wind blows, and your hair’s messy, and nobody’s running in to brush it and make it perfect.
I loved it. It was so liberating to play someone who’s having authentic experiences authentically. It became one of my favorite things to return to, and I would remember every time, “Oh, I don’t have to worry about that. We’re not doing the makeup, whatever, pimples, great.”It was a wonderful experience to have for, all these reasons
Sharon Maguire : And Sharon- one of my favorite bit was when you tried to get the big pants on. That’s my favorite. She has no vanity whatsoever. She was, getting into those pants and she said, “I think we need them tighter.” We got tighter ones and so she had to wriggle that much more. None of the men on the movie understood the big pants. They did not understand what the humor was I had to take one of the producers and say, “Look, this is a big pant.” We wear this to go on the dates to get the men, but you have to take them off before the vital moment.” “What is that?”
What was great about Helen’s book it was all about specifics. The specifics of humor. The specifics of turkey curry buffets, and mini breaks, and chardonnay, And the big pants. And the office messaging, and the seedy romances at work.
It told all those truths. And it was great that it became a universal language, ‘Cause you thought, “Maybe this is just an English thing,” We’re dissecting a whole national psychology here, We’re a small island. But when America got it, that was great.
Q : Granny panties are big here. Literally and figuratively. How big? And so I wanna know, because I talked earlier about this for both of you really did set your career in directions to major careers. And both of you, I can’t not have a moment with you and talk about some things that you’re doing in your careers right now. So Sharon, I wanna start with you, with backstage, I got so excited because of a project that you are literally going into production in what? Two weeks?
Sharon Maguire : Three weeks.
Q : And you’ll be teaming with Colin.
Sharon Maguire : It’s about the making of the book, The Joy of Sex. I don’t know if you’ve heard of that book. You’re all too young. But my parents definitely didn’t have a copy. It was like the first sex manual,
It was like No. 1 in 1972 for over a year. And so it’s about the making of that book, And Colin plays a guy called Dr. Alex Comfort who was a scientist and a mollusk expert who overnight became a sex guru.
Q : 1972.
Sharon Maguire : It’s still the most successful selling and it’s got illustrations in it of sex. The movie’s also got Julianne Moore and Laura Linney. I can’t believe the story hasn’t been told, and I’m desperate to get it out there.
Q : “The Joy of Sex”, Colin Firth, there. And Renée, you have your production company, Big Picture, that you’re pro- literally at Cannes there was with your film, “A Woman in the Sun” that’s coming soon, right? Tell me about that.
Renée Zellweger : Yeah, we’re gonna take off and go to Halifax.
Q: Oh.
Renée Zellweger : Bucket list. Three generations of women. Family drama, small film. Can’t wait. A little independent number.
Q : how difficult it is even for, people who are as successful as both of you to get films like this made. Even with stars like Susan Sarandon- like Colin Firth where is your mind right now on where the industry is with how you get these projects made?
Sharon Maguire : We were talking today about how scary it is that, this movie with that cast could raise 11 million for it. Made Bridget, the first Bridget, 46 million. Now you’re lucky if you can raise, 11, 12 million, and get seven weeks of shooting. That’s a rarity, and I realize how lucky I am. But, it’s very difficult now. It’s almost impossible, isn’t it?
Renée Zellweger : Yeah.
Sharon Maguire : Yeah, speaking of paradigms of our entertainment consumption, we used to have…social experiences, like we’d all go to the movies theater. So there was all these things for us to share as communities. And as that changes, there’s no guarantee that so many people are going to go, I was joking with Sharon today that, we’re minstrels and we’re gonna just make it happen. We’re gonna go and we’re gonna make it happen. For those of us who love the art form, we’ll just keep on going. Yeah.
Q : Yes, we have to do. But do you think Bridget Jones, if it was being first made today, how difficult would it be to make Bridget Jones’ Diary?
Sharon Maguire : I think it probably would be difficult, even with the cast we had, it’d still be difficult because, people wouldn’t think it would … the fourth Bridget Jones didn’t make it to theaters here, did it? Was it in theaters? I don’t think so.
Q : Yeah.
Sharon Maguire : Yeah.
Q : Which is a real travesty- it was so good to see in a theater in the UK. with a British audience and how excited they were, then I had to come back to the US and beg people to watch it on TV because I was so excited that the experience I had in the UK. So you’re right it’s different industry.
Sharon Maguire : It was so nice to stand at the back and hear an audience enjoying it. Laughing together is an amazing thing, and I hope people go to the movies and watch it and laugh together ’cause it’s such a great thing-
Q : Yeah
Sharon Maguire : to laugh together, isn’t it? Rather than we’re all siloed at home watching, whatever and then no, there’s no talking points anymore
Q : Again, Colin Firth thinks screen “The Joy of Sex”. My last question is, Bridget Jones has become, like you said, you meet a Bridget all the time and everyone wants to say they’re Bridget Jones, And for both of you- This legacy that always will be with you. How are you, in your own way, like Bridget Jones?
Sharon Maguire : Pretty close, yeah, a lot of the time, because it came from Helen’s experiences, and I still am a friend of Helen’s.
Q : Helen is incredible to talk to. If you ever get the opportunity, talk to Helen Fielding. She’s a brain.
Sharon Maguire : And she based it on Pride and Prejudice- Yeah … and, which was about women and marriage and money in the 1800s. And she took that, and she looked at women in modern times and she found specifics within it, and it was amazing, and yeah … and she celebrated an ordinary woman’s life,
Q : How are you like Bridget Jones?
Sharon Maguire : Oh, totally,
Q : Yeah. What about you, Renée?
Renée Zellweger : Yeah.
Q : Yeah.
Renée Zellweger : Yeah, but just barely holding it together. Ruminating right now. Dialogue over my head you shouldn’t have said that like that. That sounded bad.” “Just stop talking.”
Sharon Maguire : That’s the great thing about it, I can see that now that it brought to life that interior life of women. That self-mocking, yeah… self-loathing thing that goes on- Yeah, not just women about every-
Renée Zellweger : Not just women.
Sharon Maguire : Yeah.
Q : Yeah. Gay dudes too. I have to say, for what I do for work and just in my life, I get to talk to really amazing people all the time, and it’s such an honor, but I was telling Renée backstage, I’m rarely nervous. I’m not nervous right now, but when we last chat, I was so nervous for some reason. And I think when you get nervous in those moments, it’s because you’re sitting in the presence of a real movie star. A real movie star, that we don’t have a lot of those anymore. And so I wanna give this flower to Renée Zellweger for, and this other flower, for the many-
Renée Zellweger : I was really looking forward to this. Thanks very much.
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