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Oli Higginson is an actor who's best known as Footman John in the “Bridgerton” franchise. But he also has the musical alter ego Modern Oli who released the song “People Pleaser” and toured the U.S. earlier this year, before finishing his European tour this fall. “[Acting and singing] both arrived at the same time,” he said. “From as early as I can remember, I've been obsessed with acting, singing, dressing up, [and] performing. But most of all, [I liked] the weird and kind of shamanic exercise of becoming a character, becoming someone else. Like that line between Norma Jean and Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier and Hamlet, David Bowie and Ziggy Stardust.”

Based out of London, Higginson keeps fans updated on his career and travels on Instagram (@oli_higginson, @modern_oli) and X (@oli_higginson). This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: How was the U.S. leg of your tour?

A: It was utterly incredible. Each place had its own vibe. New York was definitely as chaotic and crazy and wild as I expected it to be, and then some. Los Angeles had such a great atmosphere. We also went for drinks at a local place called The Douglas in Echo Park, which I loved. It was like this fusion of a British pub and an American dive bar.

Q: Do you work on songs while you are on the road?

A: Of course. I've written songs in hotels [and] on planes 10,000 feet up in the air. I remember a fellow passenger on a long haul flight telling me to “please, shut up” as I was singing a song into my laptop. They were probably right to do that. The best songs come out of the most unconventional, unpredictable moments.

Q: What is your bucket-list venue that you have yet to perform in?

A: Dare I say Madison Square Garden? I mean, who do I think I am? I saw Billy Joel there once. It kind of feels like the most impossible thing to ever happen. I also love Paradiso in Amsterdam. The National Theatre in London is one of the only places I haven't done a play in and I'm keen to do something there. Also New York Theatre Workshop feels like a cool rite of passage. Playwrights Horizons [in New York], too.

Q: Where did you go to for an amazing concert?

A: I went to Coachella [in Indio, California] for the first time and it was one of the best weekends of my life. I saw so many artists who totally blew me away … but the set that is truly carved into my soul for eternity is David Byrne. Talking Heads and all of David Byrne's body of work is pivotal for me as an artist, as a human. I can die happy now that I've danced without a care in the world to David Byrne singing “This Must Be the Place” right in front of my very eyes.

Q: Where are some places that you filmed “Bridgerton”?

A: We are always in a beautiful part of England for “Bridgerton.” I've filmed wonderful scenes at the Bridgerton house in Greenwich and at Hampton Court Palace near Richmond. We used to film a lot in the English city of Bath, but now they have built this incredible backlot set out at Shepperton Studios, which is truly a feat of artistic engineering. It is stunning. And given that, it does indeed always feel like the locations are another character. They totally inform how we carry ourselves and how the scenes play out.

Q: Where would you like to go next?

A: I'd love to go to somewhere in East Asia, maybe for a holiday. I'd love to visit Japan. But right now it's full steam ahead with work and I feel lucky to be able to do this incredible adventure as a job.

Q: What is your favorite vacation destination?

A: I love the south of France, Antibes, especially. The weather, the coastline, the color of the sea, the people, the food, the light there. The jazz festival every summer. It feels like being in a movie. I feel like I can escape out there.

Q: What was a trip you took as a child that stands out?

A: I have memories of driving up to Newcastle one very rainy weekend and walking along Hadrian's Wall near Newcastle with my dad when I was maybe 11 or 12. We just chatted and walked through these extraordinary hills and then ate a great big pub meal at the end of the day. I could repeat that trip a hundred times.

Q: If you've ever gone away for the holidays, which was the best trip?

A: My sister used to live for a little while in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. We spent Christmas on an island and it was like living in the jungle. A monkey climbed up the side of the hotel through an open balcony door, opened the minibar and tore into a packet of Pringles. True story. I was cheering him on. Legend. Living his best life.

Q: What are your five favorite cities?

A: New York, London, Paris, Vegas and L.A.

Q: What is your best or worst vacation memory?

A: I love Prague and had a super cool holiday there until the night before we left. I got this horrible stomach bug and spent most of that last 24 hours bound to the bathroom of our Airbnb. Let's just say it was traumatic for everyone involved. The chaos of my tummy felt like a scourge on the landscape of such a beautiful, sophisticated city. I must go back and make new memories.

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(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and journalist. You can reach her at www.jaehakim.com, follow her on Instagram and X @goawaywithjae, or read more from her on Substack (jaehakim.substack.com).)

©2026 Jae-Ha Kim. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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