Bridgerton's Luke Newton Changed His 'Lifestyle' for His Season 3 Glow Up: 'I Wanted to Embody That Physically'

Getting to play Colin on Bridgerton "is such a gift,” says Luke Newton, 31, who has played one of the central family's heartthrob brothers on the Netflix show for four seasons.

This year, the steamy period drama saw Newton transform into a romantic lead, and he took the glow-up seriously. Colin “had changed and become a man, and I wanted to embody that physically,” he says.

So who on the show is most like their character? “Most people say me. And I do take that as a compliment,” Newton says. But “I’d like to think I’m maybe less of a pushover and slightly stronger-willed."

The actor sat down with PEOPLE at his shoot for the Royally Sexy portfolio in this year's Sexiest Man Alive issue to chat more about the role and how his life has changed since joining the hit series.

What's the best part about playing Colin?
It's that we get to come back year after year, and there's been space in the story. There's always a summer for our characters to grow and evolve and go through these wild experiences. And I think probably for Colin, he's had this crazy experience of traveling and finding himself, so being able to portray multiple different versions of this character is something that I've really loved. He was a teenager when we first met him, and to see him now year after year, sort of step into adulthood was really fun to explore.

Do you feel transformed when you put on the costumes?
Absolutely. I think I had a moment going into the new season where I was like, "It's been a while now. How am I going to get back into this?" But I kind of just trusted the process of knowing as soon as I put my first costume on that it would change everything. And it does every time, no matter how many sort of rehearsals or script reads that we do. It really does just change when you get into those costumes.

Colin's prominent sideburns seem almost as important as his clothes.
Yeah, season three, we were very, very proud of those. It took us hours to really work those out, work out the exact shape, the line that we wanted. For me, I guess I took inspiration from Jonathan Bailey from the previous season, how he had these strong sideburns that felt very sort of well shaped and groomed, and I really wanted that. I don't know, it was just fun to explore. The only thing is in normal life, it didn't really go with anything, like if I'm in the coffee shop on a Sunday morning, you can kind of spot a Bridgerton from a mile away if you see those sideys!

Fans had a lot to say about Colin’s transformation last season. Do you feel you went through a similar glow-up?
I think so. It was part of the preparation going into season three that I really wanted to feel like there was a difference, not only emotionally and in this experience that he'd had, but also physically. It kind of completely just changed my lifestyle. And there were also parallels in that I turned 30 on set while we were shooting, so it felt like we were kind of going through a similar journey.

What do you think you'd be doing if you weren't an actor?
It feels like a bit of a cop out, but something to do with music. I love to sing. Or maybe writing music and doing something where I'm able to perform. So maybe still under the bracket of the arts, but yeah, maybe singing in some capacity.

Describe your perfect date night.
I do really like an activity. Something where you can get slightly competitive to start is always really fun, like bowling. And then just something where you get to spend good quality time with that person and you get to put everything away, when there's no phones and you just get to chat and have some good food.

If you were really a member of a royal family, what perks do you think you'd enjoy?
I guess for one, it would be the travel, being able to go to these amazing places. It'd be official duties to do that. And the way that you travel, I'm sure it's very, very nice.

But also, I actually read somewhere that [one of the royal family] had someone wear their shoes in. I don't know if that's true or not but for a brand new pair of loafers, that could be quite handy. That's a really good perk to have someone walk around in your loafers for a couple of weeks, wear them in get them nice and comfortable and ready for you.

What's been one of your most memorable encounters with a fan?
Wow. I mean, on the press tour, we would always do a screening or an event. So meeting fans on that
sort of scale when they were dressed up and literally looked like they could walk onto the set of Bridgerton, that was always incredible, the effort that fans would put in. There was also a driver I'd had whilst in Paris and I'd been sharing a car with Ed McVey, who's in The Crown. So we'd both been chatting in the back of the car and I think the driver had been sort of overhearing our conversation.

And then at the end of the trip, he was dropping me at the airport and as we got out he said, "Do you mind if I just take a picture for my wife? She loves The Crown." And I just said, "Yeah, okay," knowing full well that I'm not in The Crown, and his wife will be very disappointed when she sees a picture of me and her husband. So yeah, that was a real reality check, and it was kind of nice. Bring me back down to Earth.

So what does best keep you grounded?
I think maybe my family and my friends. When I see them, just everything is normal and it's kind of nice to have some sort of normality. But I guess even going back my upbringing, I've always just thought nothing I've ever done is that big. I don't know why I can't ever really understand or appreciate the scale. So I'm like, I just do what I do. The job, I love my job so much. I love the opportunities that it brings. And yeah, then I love my downtime as well. It's great.

Do you remember the first time you were recognized?
Actually, I feel like the whole process of that crazy word, fame, has been really gradual. I did a Disney show and I had some interaction with fans at that point in my career. And then being part of this incredible ensemble of Bridgerton for seasons one and two, it felt like I've been training for it. It feels like a real slow process of meeting fans gradually and being more and more recognized. But I think the one thing about the Bridgerton fans is they're always so overwhelmingly positive and kind about the show.

How do you define 'sexy'?
I think there's something really sexy about just being completely who you are and with no shame, in whatever way that is. I don't know, there's something really cool and really sexy about just owning exactly who you are and not living up to any expectation of how you should look or how you should be.

How would you describe your year?
It has been such a wild experience of the show coming out. It's changed my life and I've loved it so much. It was like six months that we traveled promoting the show. So it's now nice to get back to London and have some sort of some home comforts and some home-cooked meals.

What's left on your bucket list?
I've actually been thinking about moving abroad. I'd really like to just live somewhere, even for a few months, that's got really nice weather. I'm enjoying traveling at the moment and being in the sun, and I feel healthy and happy when I'm there. So that's definitely been put on my bucket list recently.

How do you envision your life in 10 years?
Maybe it goes with my bucket list that I'm living in some small sunny town in Italy and have pasta every day, and I still get to travel the world and work as an actor, but my life is very quiet and content. I don't know. Yeah, that would be all right. I'd like to be on a balcony somewhere drinking coffee in Italy, reading a script for my next project. That'd be fun.