IN CONVERSATION WITH OLI HIGGINSON

interview by JANA LETONJA

Oli Higginson is stepping into a thrilling new chapter as one of the UK’s most exciting multi- hyphenate talents. Audiences will soon see him reprise his role as Footman John in Netflix’s global phenomenon Bridgerton, while simultaneously returning to the stage in Rupert Goold’s sold-out revival of American Psycho at the Almeida Theatre, where he takes on the role of Tim Price.

Alongside his acting career, Oli is quietly but confidently emerging as a music artist under the moniker Modern Oli, blending sharp lyricism with contemporary pop sensibilities. With his debut single One of Those Faces, which dropped on 23rd January and a follow-up track, Transatlantic, arriving in February, 2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for Oli Higginson across screen, stage, and sound.

This year feels like a major turning point for you. How does it feel to be balancing Bridgerton, American Psycho, and your music all at once?

Wow, when you say it out loud it does feel like a crazy time to be living in. Right now, I guess I’m holding on to the cliché of taking each day as it comes. The moment I start to feel drained, I try to focus on the work and thankfully, right now there are so many projects that are inspiring and important to me that I can’t help but feel energised. And hey, I guess it’s my nature as an actor, as an artist, to be a shapeshifter. For better or worse, I don’t really find comfort in sitting in one place or headspace for a long time, so that’s what I’m doing at the moment, finding the comfort and excitement in bouncing between those three very distinct worlds.

What was it like stepping back into the world of Bridgerton and revisiting Footman John after time away?

As cheesy as it sounds, it does really feel like home when I step out onto the Bridgerton set. It was my first ever acting job on screen, so I’ve kind of grown up with Footman John and changed around him. Our modern world is so fast and hectic and changes at such an insane speed, you struggle to keep up with it. So, there is something humbling about coming back to Bridgerton, back to a world which is so familiar and nostalgic. I can’t help but be in touch with that very first time I started the job, that very first day’s filming and the child-like magic of that. Whenever I return to Bridgerton, I’m reminded of that younger me who got a phone call once upon a time, telling him he was going to have a part on a new series called Bridgerton. That moment will never leave me.

Bridgerton is such a global phenomenon. How has being part of that universe changed your career or perspective?

The international scale of the show reminds me of the galvanising power of art in bringing people together across age, language, and culture. It taps into something classic and transcendent which makes the whole story so thrilling to be a part of. I think Bridgerton allowed me to see storytelling as something that can exist outside of the microcosm of London. When you grow up in a big city, train at drama school there, have your friends and family there and do so much of your work there, it can feel quite claustrophobic and incestuous. Like it’s the whole world. But the international scope of Bridgerton offers such a different perspective and allows me a bit more breathing space sometimes. Even just doing the premiere in Paris felt like a world away from the kind of opening nights and premieres you get in London. Not that I don’t utterly adore London, but I love the adventure of something different like that. And of course, ultimately, I know that my career would look very different had I not been offered a role in Bridgerton 6 years ago, so I am so thankful and fortunate that life landed that way and that the job has brought me to so many special moments and special human beings.

You’re also returning to the stage in Rupert Goold’s American Psycho. What drew you to the role of Tim Price?

Tim is so well drawn in Bret Easton Ellis’ brilliant novel, which has always been one of my favourite books. Right from the opening few pages, you get a strong idea of who Tim is and how he navigates the world. It’s so lovely to start from that brilliant source material. To play such a strange, lost, frenetic, privileged, perverse alpha-male animal as Tim Price was irresistible to an actor like me. I’m often very fascinated and intrigued by playing sad, lonely, confused people. I genuinely enjoy getting inside those headspace and having a rummage around. It can be quite cathartic, like you’re getting something off your chest. But I also am curious about understanding how people end up in those places, places in which we all find ourselves at one point or another in our lives. I also think the writing is so funny and such a brilliant satire on modern society, just as much as it is a period piece. Its relatability to some of the men we see working in financial districts around the world now made it extra appealing and exciting, and event more unsettling for the audience too.

How does performing in a dark, satirical musical like American Psycho compare to the refined romance of Bridgerton?

You probably can’t find two more diametrically opposed worlds as Bridgerton and American Psycho. I love the challenge of oscillating between the two. And I think that is a feature of my work and my career as an artist that has always been immensely important to me. I hate still waters. I like shapeshifting and changing and trying new things all the time. The moment something becomes too easy or too much of a routine, I want to run towards something else that gives me that slightly nervous buzz, that fear, that voice in the back of my head that goes “So you think you can do this?”. I love surprising myself and surprising others. You’re flexing such different muscles when doing American Psycho on stage compared to Bridgerton on screen. There is so much to learn from that. There’s a muscularity and discipline to stage work that is so invigorating and immediate. It is a lifestyle as much as it is a job. And by contrast, making a TV show like Bridgerton feels sometimes like a slow-burn jigsaw puzzle painted with a fine brush, which takes months, even years, to arrive at the final picture. They say theatre is like having sex, and TV is like having a baby. I suppose that’s quite a good analogy, but I’ve only done one of those two things so probably not the best authority.

Music has been something you’ve been developing quietly. Why did now feel like the right moment to introduce Modern Oli?

I guess there’s no ‘perfect’ moment, is there? I just got to the point where I couldn’t bear putting it off anymore. Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, it’s like breathing to me. In my early 20s, I naturally had to focus on my craft as an actor. I went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and kind of cut my teeth in challenging pieces on stage and guest roles on TV. But now 5 years or so into my acting career, it feels like time to allow my music into my professional life a bit more. I was sitting on all these songs, and people kept nudging me to put them out. The last few years, like so many people, I’ve been grappling with the instability of the world, the complexities of ‘growing up’, and the challenges of relationships and friendships and sex and money and work and the whole thing of being alive really. All of it, all the anxiety, the joy, the fear, the thrill, it’s all poured into my songs. I guess it’s been overflowing for too long, so now is the time to share those songs with the world, starting with One of Those Faces, which has just been released.

How would you describe the sound and emotional world of Modern Oli to someone hearing it for the first time?

I’ve been describing Modern Oli as like an indie-pop deep dive into the identity crisis of being human in 2026. It’s born out of the last train home, 3am Ubers, deep chats at house parties, pillow-talk with your lover, catchy tunes, slow-burn sadness, grief and loss, love and ecstasy, my favourite restaurants, my best friends, my biggest mistakes, and my proudest moments, my flaws, my fears, my

best years. It’s turning the light off in a hotel room. It’s walking out on stage. It’s sitting in the dressing room with my closest friend. It’s getting a WhatsApp from that mate from school you wish you’d kept in touch with. It’s a childhood crush, and the love of your life. It’s all my favourite bands, the earliest records I bought, like Bowie, Radiohead, The Cure, Talking Heads, Nick Cave, Pulp, and the newer artists that have soundtracked my 20s, like the 1975, Japanese House, Phoebe Bridgers, Bleachers, Wolf Alice, Wet Leg, I could go on and on. It’s those moments and these artists and the lingering obsession with figuring out who you really are and what you really want that made Modern Oli.

Your debut single One of Those Faces came out on 23 January. What inspired the song?

I wrote it on New Year’s Eve 2024, reflecting on a 3am conversation I’d had with the daughter of a very well-known actor at a house party in Peckham. It’s about nepo-babies, first kisses, last kisses, and we-never-kissed-kisses. It’s the inner-monologue of a paranoid, self-conscious young person who wishes they could fit in with the cool kids.

How do you protect your creative energy when juggling multiple disciplines at once?

I think when things are really busy, I have to be extra careful to stay focused on the bits of my life and work that feel truly special and important to me. My very ADHD mind is so easily distracted, so I have to work extra hard to put my energy in the right direction. I’m such a ‘yes guy’, in these busy times I have to practice saying ‘no, thank you’ so I can stay focused on the beautiful adventure I’m on. I also think you have to try to be present with the moment, appreciate the small incremental wins as much as the big flashy wins, dig into the sheer excitement of being able to get up and do this for a living, and hang onto that. Try not to compare yourself, try not to wish away the moment you’re in. It’s so easy to become resentful and cynical of a busy schedule, but it’s never going to bring you the joy you get from seeing the magic of the journey. And if anything is going to drain your creative energy, it’s losing touch of the simple magic of what we do as creative artists. I should say that I am, for the record, terrible at actual magic, and yes I have tried.

What excites you most about this next phase of your career?

It’s the unknown that is so thrilling. I have no idea what I’m doing in 6 months time, where I’ll be, who I’ll be working with, what challenge will come my way next. I love that sense of adventure, like going into unchartered waters.

TEAM CREDITS:

talent OLI HIGGINSON
photography PIP BOURDILLON
styling TOM O’DELL
hair and makeup CHARLIE CULLEN
interview JANA LETONJA