Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor Responds To Fans’ Obsession With Her “Neck Acting”

Netflix’s Bridgerton, the Shonda Rhimes-produced historical bodice-ripper, is the streamer’s most-watched series in history for multiple reasons, including blush-inducing sex scenes, a unique soundtrack, and now, its lead actress’s “neck acting."

That’s right — not only is Phoebe Dynevor, aka Daphne Bridgerton, making headlines for her impossibly tiny baby fringe, but for her expressive neck. On Twitter, fans have been praising the actress for her gift. “Phoebe's neck acting was one of the reasons why she's my fave actress from the show,” one fan wrote alongside a clip of her neck hard at work.

“i mean give her an oscar,” another user wrote above an entire YouTube compilation entitled “Phoebe Dynevors Oscar Worthy Neck Acting in Bridgerton.”

The hype finally caught up to Dynevor, whose sister alerted her to the fact that her neck was garnering unexpected fame. “I didn't even know I was doing it, but I think with the corset—and my need to express Daphne's anxiety—there was a lot of sort of tense neck action,” Dynevor explained in an interview for L'Officiel's February cover.

"It was about displaying two different emotions," she continued, "and not making her feel like this sort of Disney princess—that everything's great, because she's scared and vulnerable underneath all of that wide-eyed naiveté."

Other fans have included Claire Foy's portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown in the Neck Acting Hall of Fame.

Recently, the concept of acting with your body parts has become one of the Internet's favourite obsessions. There was Emma Corrin's very heavily memed "eye acting" in The Crown as Princess Diana, and most recently "mouth acting," demonstrated in a viral video by Mary Elizabeth Kelly (@mare_kell) on TikTok.

No word yet on whether the Golden Globes are adding these new categories to the award show.