I was terrified before I met Renee that I made a big error – but I’m so lucky to have worked with her, says Leo Woodall

WHEN helium met Bridget Jones co-star Renee Zellweger for the archetypal time, histrion Leo Woodall admits helium was perfectly terrified.

But the brace deed it disconnected instantly, and fans present person conscionable days to hold for the merchandise of the movie, successful which the brace passionately buss contempt a 27-year property gap.

On Valentine’s Day, Renee, 55, returns to her celebrated role successful Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, with Leo arsenic toyboy parkland warden Roxster.

And the movie heart-throb reveals helium was a container of nerves erstwhile helium archetypal met his starring lady, on with movie manager Michael ­Morris, conscionable a week earlier ­filming began.

He said: “I was terrified . . . I got connected a Lime bike, but it was a rookie mistake due to the fact that I turned up and it was a blistery day.

“And I had conscionable cycled for 25 ­minutes and I was truthful blistery and drank 2 pints of h2o the 2nd I arrived. I was sweating terribly.”

Thankfully, Renee enactment Leo, 28, astatine ease. He explained: “She is truthful iconic. It would beryllium casual for her to person this gravitas, this intimidation astir her.

“But she is truthful humble and beauteous and benignant and benignant of conscionable goofy that it cuts done each of that.”

Speaking during a YouTube interview, helium added: “She’s 1 of the champion ­people connected the planet, she truly is.

“She’s truthful unbelievably benignant and warm, and I’m precise fortunate to person worked with her.”

In this latest movie, Bridget learns however to navigate beingness arsenic a azygous mum aft her surface hubby Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth, tragically dies.

‘I wasn’t bully astatine much’

Her erstwhile romanticist involvement Daniel Cleaver, portrayed by Hugh Grant, is back, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Emma Thompson and Isla Fisher besides star.

In existent hilarious Bridget style, our heroine meets ­Roxster portion she is caught successful a precarious presumption during a sojourn to ­London’s Hampstead Heath with her children.

Talking astir filming those first, comic scenes, Leo said of his character: “He’s a feline who meets Bridget erstwhile she’s ­hanging disconnected a tree . . . 

“And it’s benignant of timed successful a mode that she’s been encouraged by her friends to get backmost connected the [dating] equine and, you know, get immoderate joyousness backmost successful her beingness ­outside of enactment and motherhood, and they find a connection.”

Recalling however im- pressed helium was with Renee arsenic an actress, Leo told Virgin Radio: “I ideate it’s a tonne of unit connected her shoulders, but . . . what was truthful bonzer astir seeing however she conducts herself is that each azygous time connected set, she led the unit of 200 radical to the end, each with smiles connected her face.

“I mean, she hung disconnected a tree . . . she was expected to beryllium harnessed, but she didn’t archer ­anyone that really the harness wasn’t working.

“She was hanging connected by her fingertips for astir an hour, and past they were like, ‘You OK, Renee?’.

“And she said, ‘Yeah I’m good’. And they were like, ‘Is the harness not working?’ She’s like, ‘No’. Her fingertips were holding her connected to this histrion and she had nary complaints.”

Landing the portion of Roxster was a imagination travel existent for Leo, who has besides starred successful Netflix miniseries One Day and deed amusement The White Lotus.

“I ne'er thought I would beryllium successful a Bridget Jones movie,” helium says. “It is precise surreal and precise peculiar and I’m soaking it each up.”

As 1 of Hollywood’s rising stars, London-born Leo has the satellite astatine his feet.

But determination was a time, aft going to a “rough school” and getting sacked from his archetypal occupation arsenic a store assistant, that helium feared his beingness was heading nowhere.

Talking astir the inner-city acquisition helium received successful London, Leo — whose dad, stepdad and grandma are besides actors — said: “I went to this schoolhouse which was not good, to beryllium honest. It was truly rough.

“I deliberation immoderate consciousness of wanting to beryllium an histrion got instantly stomped connected portion I was there.”

Instead, Leo dreamed of making it arsenic a PE teacher. He said: “I wasn’t truly bully astatine overmuch but I liked athletics and loved my PE teachers.”

But erstwhile 1 told him that helium needed bully grades for a teaching role, helium didn’t deliberation it was for him.

He said: “My imagination was shattered erstwhile I realised you had to not get an F grade.”

Leo’s back-up program was to beryllium a stuntman. He recalled: “I retrieve I utilized to resistance the mattress disconnected my furniture and descent it down the stairs.

“I emotion that s**t. When I was successful stuntman mode, I was a pro! Outside of it, I was clumsy arsenic hell. I had a mates of moments wherever I would autumn disconnected walls and ace unfastened my head.”

Sadly, Leo’s luck didn’t get overmuch amended erstwhile helium landed his archetypal occupation arsenic a store adjunct astatine a apparel store.

He told a podcast: “I worked successful Hollister erstwhile I was, like, 17.

“I hated it. I tin inactive retrieve the odor of the Hollister cologne. It was the 1 successful Westfield successful West London. I mean, I conscionable retrieve I was truly atrocious astatine it arsenic well.

“I was encouraged to speech to the customers, but not conscionable speech to them, to assistance them find an outfit. I can’t bash that, like, ‘What!?’

“I’d occasionally get not rather told off, but they’d beryllium like, ‘Leo, you know  . . . interact with them more’.

“I’m like, ‘What is this? This is simply a shop, radical spell to bargain clothes’. ­Suddenly, you’re a stylist. I wasn’t precise bully astatine it.

“So I yet conscionable benignant of stopped returning their calls. And then, erstwhile I yet said, ‘Do you cognize what? I deliberation I’m going to leave’, they were like, ‘Leo, we’ve already fundamentally sacked you’. ”

Finally, astatine the property of 19, Leo — who has been dating his White Lotus co-star Meghann Fahy, 34, since 2022 — ­realised his champion changeable for a vocation was pursuing successful his family’s footsteps and trying to marque it arsenic an actor.

‘It was a pugnacious life’

He said: “It has to beryllium successful my DNA successful immoderate way. I didn’t privation to bash it astatine archetypal due to the fact that of the household history. Acting didn’t truly drawback me.

“But suddenly, astatine the property of 19, I felt similar I had caught a bug and each of the past melted away.”

In 2019, helium made his TV debut successful Holby City. Three years later, helium got his interruption starring arsenic Jack successful The White Lotus and, 2 years aft that, arsenic Dexter Mayhew successful ­Netflix amusement One Day.

Coming from a household of actors helped Leo to set to beingness successful the ­spotlight and helium is enjoying his newfound wealth.

He said: “Before I adjacent wanted to beryllium an actor, I was alert that it was a pugnacious life.”

The prima told however helium was warned by his household astir the pitfalls of enactment rejections, but added: “You tin lone beryllium truthful acceptable for pugnacious times.

“I’ve been precise fortunate truthful far, and I’m decidedly fortunate that I’ve got them to crook to if I request advice.”

Off-screen, Leo shuns the showbiz manner and prefers to situation ­himself with adjacent household members.

And helium has kept his narration with American histrion Meghann low-key.

They met filming The White Lotus successful Sicily, but lone went ­Instagram authoritative past February.

Meghann — who has appeared successful TV shows Gossip Girl and The Bold Type, and worked connected Broadway — received an Emmy information for her relation arsenic Daphne successful the HBO/Sky series.

Leo says they are bully astatine keeping their narration “as backstage arsenic we can”.

But astatine the commencement of the year, they went connected a romanticist mini-break to the Maldives and Meghann posted an update from the beach.

Modest Leo said of his beingness distant from the cameras: “I bent choky to the champion radical successful my beingness and I don’t get excessively attached to the hoo-ha of the ­business.

“I deliberation the enactment is the crushed wherefore we bash this and, speech from that, there’s immoderate amusive to beryllium had.

“But, isolated from that, it’s beauteous overmuch conscionable household and the cosy parts of beingness that are the things that I ­cherish most.”

As for what the future has successful store, Leo’s dreams are simple.

He said: “I deliberation I’d conscionable emotion to beryllium steadfast and blessed and capable to work.”