In the opening scene ofBridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, the movie features an utterly unexpected nod to theHarry Potteradaptations.TheBridget Jonesmoviesalways boasted impressive casts. The classic 2001 original offered cameos to Salman Rushdie and Honor Blackman alongside its A-list leads Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant, and even had room for supporting roles for Celia Imrie and Jim Broadbent. Not to be outdone, 2016’sBridget Jones’s Babysaw Patrick Dempsey join the franchise along with Emma Thompson and a cameo role for Ed Sheeran.
AlthoughBridget Jones: Mad About The Boychangesthe story of the source novel at times, it doesn’t skimp on star power. Both Grant and Firth return once again, and Leo Woodall, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leila Farzad, and Isla Fisher all join the series in supporting roles. However, viewers who have been around since 2001’sBridget Jones’ Diarywill be glad to see that this starry cast list doesn’t push out some old friends. Bridget’s closest confidantes, Shazzer, Tom, and Jude all return, and Jude’s actor gets a hilarious nod to another famous role of hers in an early scene.
Bridget Says Jude Can Be Found “Crying in the Bathroom”
BeforeBridget Jones: Mad About The Boy’s age gapromance begins, an early scene sees Bridget reunited with the friend group that has been with her since the original movie. Bridget’s narration introduces Shazzer, Tom, and Jude after Shazzer saves her from a maudlin party on the anniversary of Darcy’s death four years earlier. When introducing Jude, Bridget says she can usually be found “Crying in the bathroom.” This couldn’t be more fitting, sinceJude’s actor Shirley Henderson famously played the role of Moaning Myrtle in theHarry Pottermovies.
Crying in the bathrooms of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is exactly how Henderson’s character is introduced in her first scene fromHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
There, Henderson’s character could be found crying in the bathrooms of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and that is exactly how she is introduced in her first scene fromHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Of course, the joke aboutBridget Jones: Mad About The Boy’s returning characterisn’t just intended as a meta-reference forHarry Potterfans. Viewers who remember the first movie in the series well will know that it is also a payoff from 2001’sBridget Jones’s Diary.
Shirley Henderson’s Character Was Introduced In The Same Situation
One year before her role inHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,Henderson’s Jude was first seen crying in the bathroom inBridget Jones’s Diary, too. The Scottish actor has played a diverse range of roles in the 23 years since, appearing in everything fromDoctor WhotoThe Mandalorian. However, two of her most famous roles both saw her characters crying in the bathroom when they were first introduced, and both happened to arrive in cinemas within a year of each other.
Henderson isn’t the onlyBridget Jones’s Diaryalumnus to appear in theHarry Potterfranchise. Bridget’s mother is played by Gemma Jones, who played Madam Pomfry in the series, while her father is played by Jim Broadbent, who took on the role of Professor Slughorn. However, neither of theirHarry Pottercharacters had as much in common with theirBridget Jones: Mad About The Boyroles as Henderson’s Jude and Moaning Myrtle.
