Benedict Has to Stop Love Bombing, Luke Thompson Says (Exclusive)

Luke Thompson is ready to see the Bridgerton family’s second son grow up.

In season 4 of Bridgerton, Benedict (Thompson) takes center stage as a Cinderella story unfolds after he meets housemaid Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) in disguise at his mother’s masquerade ball.

The biggest challenge that the free-spirited bachelor faces this season, Thompson reveals, is his aversion to “commitment.”

“He is someone who is very comfortable giving everyone a little piece of himself — but no more and no further,” Thompson, 37, tells PEOPLE of his character at the season 4 premiere in Paris.

In fact, he’ll even go as far as to say that Benedict tends to be a culprit of a “general love bomb,” which further complicates his feelings for Sophie, as he has to learn how to “love someone specifically.”

“How can you really give someone [everything] and show everyone, you know, the sort of more complicated depths of yourself?” Thompson says.

Therein lies the arc that viewers can expect to see from Benedict in season 4. “I think that’s his journey, it’s sort of [him figuring out] how to go deeper,” Thompson teases.

Meeting Sophie leaves Benedict “awestruck” in season 4, per the official synopsis, and he enlists the help of his sister Eloise (Claudia Jessie) to find out who the mysterious Lady in Silver is — “but in fact, his heart’s desire is not in society at all — she is a resourceful maid called Sophie Baek, working for the formidable Lady of the house, Araminta Gun,” per the official synopsis.

Thompson previously told PEOPLE that he opted not to ask the show’s previous male leads — Regé-Jean Page, Jonathan Bailey and Luke Newton — for advice before filming began on season 4, though he was “tempted to ask.”

“I was tempted, and then I thought, no, I’m just gonna find out myself — how I want, how I feel, how it feels to me,” he said at the Bridgerton: Season of Love event last year.

“I think there could be an amazing book written about how everyone’s done it, because it’s so personal, and it says so much about that person,” he said of leading a season.

“That’s the beauty of the show — a different flavor [each season].”

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Like her costar, Ha, 28, also opted not to talk to the previous female leads before stepping into Sophie’s shoes. “I kind of wanted to just feel this journey for myself and kind of figure out the wars on my own,” she told PEOPLE.

She shared that she had been in touch with Phoebe Dynevor, Simone Ashley and Nicola Coughlan, who had told her, “If you want advice, please reach out. But don’t get too scared. The fans are amazing.”

“That’s been the biggest thing that they said is like, don’t let [the fans] scare you, know they’re so lovely and supportive.”

Part 1 of Bridgerton season 4 premieres Jan. 29 on Netflix, followed by Part 2 on Feb. 26.

Reporting by Julie Vincent.