Luke Thompson on How Benedict Differs from Previous ‘Bridgerton’ Male Leads (Exclusive)

Benedict Bridgerton is bringing something new to Netflix.

Luke Thompson’s flirtatious second son leads season 4 of Bridgerton, which kicks off Thursday, Jan. 29, and the actor, 37, says fans will get to see Benedict push himself out of his comfort zone in the upcoming episodes.

Reflecting on how each male lead has differed — Regé-Jean Page led season 1, followed by Jonathan Bailey and then, most recently, Luke Newton for season 3 — at the season 4 premiere in Paris, Thompson tells PEOPLE, “They all have their different blocks when it comes to love and falling in love and committing to someone, but I think for Benedict, it’s all about that word commitment.”

“He is someone who is very comfortable giving everyone a little piece of himself — but no more and no further,” Thompson explains.

Benedict is a culprit of the “love bomb,” Thompson says, which means his challenge after he meets Sophie (Yerin Ha) in disguise at his mother’s masquerade ball and begins a quest to discover her true identity is to “love someone specifically.”

“How can you really give someone [everything] and show everyone, you know, the sort of more complicated depths of yourself? So I think that’s his journey, it’s sort of like how to go deeper,” Thompson teases.

When production began on season 4 in 2024, Thompson told Netflix’s Tudum that Benedict’s story explores “the struggle between a proper old-school fairy tale — the romance of it — and the actual reality of the world.”

“I get really excited by how many unexpected twists you’ll get in Season 4,” he teased.

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Based on Julia Quinn’s An Offer from a Gentleman, season 4 sees Benedict left “awestruck” by Sophie at the ball, and he begins a quest to find out who she is, while Sophie continues working nearby as a maid for Lady Araminta Gun (Katie Leung).

“When fate brings Benedict and Sophie back together, Benedict wrestles between the reality of his affection for this intriguing maid and the fantasy of the Lady in Silver — unaware that they are the same person,” reads the official synopsis. “Will Benedict’s inability to see these women as one in the same derail the undeniable spark between him and Sophie? And can love truly conquer anything — even a cross-class connection forbidden by society?”

Ha, 28, who was announced as the lead alongside Thompson in 2024, recently told InStyle that starring in the series as Sophie taught her “a lot about self-love and self-acceptance.”

While her “first thought” when she was cast was, “‘Oh no, the intimacy scenes,’ ” the experience ended up being an opportunity for growth.

“Being a woman in this industry, it’s a massive thing. People think that they have the right to talk about your body, how you look, and your external appearance,” Ha said. “I’ve dealt with body image and that shame for a very, very long time — and I’m still working through it.”

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

Reporting by Julie Vincent.