‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ Cast, Updates: Patrick Dempsey Talks Starring in Sequel as New Love Interest Jack Qwant, Praises Co-Star Renee Zellweger

‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ star Patrick Dempsey talked about taking on the role as Bridget’s newest love interest in the third installment. He also praised co-star Renee Zellweger, who returned to reprise her role as the clumsy yet charming singleton Bridget Jones.

Dempsey will appear as Zellweger’s latest love interest in director Sharon Maguire’s upcoming third installment in the ‘Bridget Jones’ cinematic series. The 50-year old actor best known for his role as the neurosurgeon Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd on the critically-acclaimed medical drama ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ is set to play Bridget’s new American boyfriend Jack Qwant.

The new film follows Bridget as a successful television executive who suddenly finds herself pregnant with no idea as to who is the child’s father, according to Haute Living. Dempsey expressed his enthusiasm over his new role saying, “The script was offered to me and I really liked it. I was pleasantly surprised; I didn’t really know what to expect, but I had a good time.” He gushed over Zellweger saying, “She’s great—really easy to work with and fun.”

He also talked about his six year-long hiatus from the entertainment industry saying, “I think that’s always good, to take a step back, take a look around and live life… Everybody was very nervous going into [the movie] because there was still a lot of work to be done on the script and it had been a number of years since the last one [Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason was released in 2004]. But, once we started getting into those first few weeks—I’d say about the third week—everybody started to relax and say, ‘OK, we’ve got something here that feels good.’”

According to the Hamilton Spectator, Depmsey also expressed his desire to reprise his role for future films in the series. He said during an interview at the ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ premiere in London, "It would be nice to see Bridget growing and living her life. There hasn't been another character like that where you're growing up with her."

Meanwhile, Zellweger admitted that returning as the title character was quite nerve-wracking at first. She said, It was scary coming back. Especially since I love this character and didn't want to disappoint anybody.”

She added, "I always feel a slight twinge of impostor syndrome when I go to work - it's an ever-present sentiment for me that I'll be thinking, 'OK, this is the time I'm going to be discovered and fired' - and after being away for so long, it was strong this time."

‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ is an upcoming romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire and written for the big screen by Helen Fielding, Emma Thompson, and Dan Mazer. It stars Renee Zellweger, Patrick Dempsey, Colin Firth, Sally Phillips, James Callis, Sarah Solemani, Celia Imrie, Jim Broadbent, and Gemma Jones among others. It is produced by Miramax, StudioCanal, Universal Pictures, and Working Title Films.

The film is scheduled to premiere on September 16, 2016 in the United States.