With the baton passing from Sexiest Man Alive Jonathan Bailey to Sussex-born heartthrob Luke Newton, it is now Luke Thompson’s time to shine as the leading man in the latest series of the hit Netflix show, Bridgerton.
As series four of the Shonda Rhimes series hits our screens, all eyes are on the 37-year-old actor who plays the charmingly artistic Benedict Bridgerton and his beautiful co-star, Yerin Ha, who plays his love interest, Sophie Baek.
And it seems, his on-screen persona as the affable, eligible nobleman isn't as far removed from the Southampton-born star's off-screen demeanour as one might think.
A source tells HELLO! that he was every bit as magnetic as the middle Bridgerton brother while studying at university, coining him a BNOC ('Big name on campus').
"He was always in the cool acting crowd and would swan into lectures," they said. "He had a magnetic energy and was definitely a BNOC at university, and always in all the drama society plays."
But it wasn't just his "magnetic" air, as he certainly had the intelligence to match. Our source recalls that Luke would often speak up in seminars and was one of the only men who chose English. They added: "Everyone knew he was going to do well, whatever his chosen career path."
'Insanely' talented
Despite it taking two years of auditioning to secure his spot at RADA, Luke's acting talents always shone through. Another source revealed they thought that he was "already better than most professionals" before attending the UK's leading institution, which has seen the likes of Cynthia Erivo, Alan Rickman, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Tom Hiddleston through its doors.
They added, "He was lovely and insanely talented. He played a lot of lead roles in the drama society shows, and I definitely thought he would make it if he pursued acting. I remember him being brilliant as the lead in Accidental Death of an Anarchist, and I that he was basically better than most professionals already."
A different kind of education
While he may seem like your average Brit, Luke is bilingual and was educated in France, attending the Lycée International François Ier located in Fontainebleau.
In contrast to the schooling system in the UK, the rigorous curriculum Luke would have studied would no doubt have set him up for success. Students are expected to take on a high number of subjects with a large load of coursework.
The curriculum is split into three streams, where you can specialise in economics, science or literature. While it's unclear which stream Luke undertook, given his track record, he would likely have chosen the artsy pathway.