Oli Higginson

From the bustling sets of Bridgerton to the quiet solitude of writing music as Modern Oli, actor and singer-songwriter Oli Higginson moves fluidly between collaboration and introspection. Trained on some of the UK’s most prestigious stages, he reflects on creativity, vulnerability, and the beauty of exploring darker emotional landscapes : on screen, on stage, and in song.

By Diane Marchetti

Pic by: Lana Nemchenko

Saturne: Can you introduce yourself for people who may not know you?

I’m Oli; I’m an actor and singer-songwriter from London. I’m 6’2’’ so I’m always looking for a bit of headspace. I’ve been acting and singing as long as I’ve been breathing, but only acting professionally for the last 5 years since I graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. After a bunch of plays and musicals in the West End and venues like Shakespeare’s Globe, the Old Vic, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Soho Theatre, as well as TV shows on HBO, the BBC, Amazon, Sky Atlantic, and Netflix, I decided to join the ranks of the eye-rollingly long list of actors who have started putting out music… 

Saturne: Bridgerton is based on the novels by Julia Quinn. Did you read the books before or during filming?

I must confess I have never finished a Bridgerton novel… I have books one and three on my shelf at home (that being the Duke & I, and An Offer From a Gentleman). I have loved dipping into them and have so much love an respect for the book series, but ultimately my immersion and connection to the Bridgerton world has been through its screen iteration. On top of that, my character (Footman John) doesn’t exist in any of the books so I figured I would turn elsewhere for inspiration, and create him out of my imagination and the amazing work the writers and showrunners do on the Netflix series. I’ve been reading the brilliant ‘Memoirs of an Eighteenth Century Footman’ — which believe it or not is the real-life memoirs of a footman called John in the Regency Era. Now that’s cool. He had quite a number of adventures . . . as do our Bridgerton footmen and maids…!

Saturne: How would you describe the atmosphere on the Bridgerton set? Do you have any behind-the-scenes stories you can share with us?

It really is one of the most joyful places to work. There’s always a buzz about the place and everyone has such passion and dedication and love for what they are creating. The attention to detail and care and craft is just mind-blowing. No-one takes it for granted and everyone is showing up and giving their 110% every day so it is such an inspiring and invigorating place to work. In terms of memories from recent filming, I will have to keep my lips sealed, but I do have fond memories of a scene in season one — I introduce Lord Berbrooke in the Bridgerton drawing room. I remember Jamie Beamish (endlessly funny sending us into hysterics eating a biscuit in that scene) serenading us all on the harpsichord in the corner between takes. If I remember correctly he played a rather stirring and dramatic version of Amie by Damien Rice. Whenever I’m back filming in the drawing room I remember that first day filming on that set back in January 2020.

Saturne: What was your reaction the first time you saw the final version of the series on screen?

It’s a little bit discombobulating because you sort of sit there thinking ‘how in the world am I a part of this?!?’. You’re transfixed by the whole thing and then all of a sudden you appear on screen and it’s like ‘wait, that’s ME?!? In Bridgerton?’. I don’t think my brain has ever really come to terms with it. Then comes in all the typical insecurities of ‘oh I look ridiculous’ or ‘why did I do it like that’. I think in the moment when you film it you’re going off instinct and you’re in the moment which is the best way. But when you watch it back months later it can feel a little strange — but in general I just sit there with my jaw in the floor, like a little kid, so proud and excited to be in this incredible piece of television.

Saturne: I know you also make music. Can you tell us about your first EP and what inspired it?

I’ve written songs for as long as I can remember and it was songwriting that has gotten me through some of the hardest moments in my life. I absolutely adore acting and sinking into a character, and will be continuing to act for the rest of my life, but I found myself yearning for an outlet to explore myself and my thoughts and feelings in a different way. As I went through my 20s I found I was piling up more and more unsaid thoughts and feelings and anxieties and I wanted to give myself a space to air them, explore them, share them, and hopefully find comfort and solidarity in playing them in front of an audience — that gave birth to my music project Modern Oli. 

Saturne: How does your experience as an actor influence the way you write or perform music?

I think because of acting I recognise very deeply the value of utilising another character or style to explore and reveal the truest parts of yourself. A character doesn’t hide the soul of the actor, it actually opens it up and allows the person behind to be truly themselves. This idea is reflected in the old adage ‘give a man a mask and he’ll show you his true face’. You need a really good lens or prism, avenue or vehicle, medium or even — appropriately — instrument in order to access your true self, voice, emotion, honesty, which in our day to day lives remains mysteriously inaccessible. This is the role of art. This is the role of the actor. And character is to the actor what songs are to the musician. So I feel lucky and uniquely placed in my journey of writing and performing music.

Saturne: What themes are particularly meaningful to you ? Both on screen and in your music?

When I auditioned for drama school, the head of the school at the time asked me ‘do you like dark places?’. It was a kind of peculiar question and at the time I thought oh you’re trying to catch me out or press me in some way. But actually I look back and I think it was quite an important question for me and I think about it to this day. I think in fact I do love dark places in my work as an actor and a songwriter. Not in a nasty way but in a curious way. I like light places as well but I find it soothing how we can create beautiful art out of the most harrowing and painful and hurtful moments of human existence. It somehow imbues inherent value into the challenges of life and I find that comforting in some way. So I suppose I generally do gravitate towards slightly darker themes. I find love endlessly fascinating — don’t we all? Sex and relationships are a mystery to so many of us. And then there’s the feeling of inadequacy, shame, feeling unfulfilled, scared of the unknown. I’m quite philosophical and existential (I studied Theology at Bristol University before training as an actor). I have a song called Caveman which is all about thinking about how far we have, or haven’t come, from our stoneage ancestors when it comes to our relationship to love and sex. And another song called People Pleaser which is — as it says — all about my inescapable desire to people please and give people what they want, even at my own expense sometimes. But don’t worry I do have a couple of happy songs; my song Transatlantic is a bop about love across the Atlantic ocean between a Brit and an American…

Saturne: How do you experience the difference between the solitude of creating music and the collective energy of a film set?

I love oscillating between the two; so much of art is collaborative and I love embracing that to the fullest. The sense of trust and community you get from building something together is so astounding and beautiful and is ultimately what gets me up in the morning. At the same time, the discipline to do something alone and sit with your thoughts and feelings and self-critique is such a worthwhile pursuit. It’s funny how most of the time the hardest person to trust is ourselves. We put so much belief and trust into other people, even people we don’t know very well, but we rarely can stand on our own two feet and trust ourselves. I’m trying to do that more.

Saturne: If you were to compose a soundtrack, what kind of sound or style would you like to explore?

I love very minimalist film scores. I’d love to compose an entire soundtrack on one gorgeous acoustic upright piano, dripping in character. Artists like Max Richter, Nils Frahm, Johan Johannsson, Peter Sandberg. I also recently got into Ethan Gruska’s album Slowmotionary which is truly special and could be the soundtrack of something superb. It takes you somewhere. I also remember loving the soundtrack by Arcade Fire to the film Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson. I was going through a break up at the time and sometimes in those moments you hear music and see films in even deeper colours. But ultimately the greatest piece of all these is the sublime On the Nature of Daylight by Max Richter; I heard this piece when I was at drama school and it has stuck with me ever since. Nothing has ever topped it for its bleak, melancholic, bittersweet simplicity. 

Saturne: How do you see your evolution as an artist ? Are you an actor who makes music, or a musician who acts? And what are your goals to achieve?

So many people ask me this question; what do you prefer, acting or music? The fact is, whilst it might sound like a cop out, I love both equally. They both define who I am, how I work. Each defines the other. Where would my acting be without music and where would my music be without acting? Where would I be without both? Who knows…they are both cornerstones of what makes me the artist that I am and I could never imagine being without them. My aim is for my involvement in each to ebb and flow, almost seasonally. I love running them side by side and it has been just about doable so far! I’ve just finished 2 months at the Royal Shakespeare Company playing Claudio in Measure for Measure, and 5 days later I had my sold out debut headline Modern Oli show at The Grace in London. I’m about to start rehearsals for another play which I can’t talk about, then Bridgerton S4 comes out alongside the release of my debut single. I’m hoping to go on a modern oli tour in 2026, and no doubt there will be more acting work — I really want to do feature film, something immersive, challenging. I’d love to do a dark absurdist comedy. And I’m keen to tackle some of the great American plays onstage (Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neil et al.). But ultimately when I think about goals, I’m always about variety. I do one thing, then I want to do the opposite. Then I want to do the opposite again. I want to be constantly challenging myself, surprising myself, surprising the people I work with and the people who see my work. The minute I get the sense someone feels a project isn't 'right' for Oli Higginson or 'oh he could never do something like that' - that's the minute I jump up and go 'I beg to differ'. So many of my proudest moments as an actor have come out of that mindset. If in 10 years from now I can look back on a decade of work that embodies that kind of fearlessness and versatility, that's the most important thing to me.

Catch Oli Higginson on Bridgerton Season 4 premiering Jan 29.