Torrance Coombs On Bash’s Post-Mary ‘Reign’ Future

Queen Mary may have chosen Francis on “Reign,” but that decision isn’t just a historical one – it’s a great one because it opens up a host of possibilities for Torrance Coombs’ Bash.

“In a strange way, his ascent to the almost throne – it never felt right to the character. It wasn’t supposed to. It was never the role he was meant to be in, so he was always uneasy with that and I think, as an actor, I always felt uneasy with that, knowing historically, [where things] had to end up,” Torrance told AccessHollywood.com. “So… there’s a freedom that comes with the openness now.”

“Tudors” alum Torrance started out on The CW series as Francis’ hunky older brother, good at sword fights, horse riding and dog rescuing, and someone the ladies found easy on the eyes. But, as the season rolled out, it was Francis who turned into the one popular with the ladies, and kind of a horndog.

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“The characters were conceived somewhat differently in the beginning,” Torrance said, when Access asked him if he was surprised about Francis’ popularity with the ladies. “It’s been interesting to track it from the pilot, because I know in the pilot, one of the directions, when I was teasing Francis about who he’d been riding, there [were] thoughts at that point that Francis might be a virgin, or very virginal and kind of afraid of sex and obviously that got dropped in the editing and in the storytelling. But Bash was certainly originally conceived as the ‘horndog’ and then, on Day 1, he lays eyes on Mary and doesn’t really have much time for anybody else. So the characters almost flipped roles in that way as the story unfolded, which was interesting.”

Now though, with Mary having chosen Francis, and the two having married and consummated (again) their relationship (this time, publicly), it opens doors for Torrance’s charismatic character.

“He starts making up for lost time,” Torrance said.

“Reign” airs Thursday at 9/8c on The CW.

— Jolie Lash