Renée Zellweger Shed ‘Tears’ Saying Goodbye to Bridget Jones (Exclusive)

 Renée Zellweger is waving goodbye to her iconic character, Bridget Jones.

The actress, 55, has reprised the position for the ultimate installment within the franchise, Mad About the Boy, and on the New York City premiere on Wednesday, Feb. 12, the star completely advised PEOPLE that she’s feeling emotional about saying farewell.

“We’ve been forging this friendship for over 25 years together through this journey, shared journey, Bridget Jones’ journey,” Zellweger says of the forged, together with Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. 

“It was both wonderful and really sad,” she tells PEOPLE of filming, including that “real tears” have been shed when the film wrapped.

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When requested if Mad About the Boy — which additionally stars Leo Wodall and Chiwetel Ejiofor — can be the ultimate of Bridget’s installments, the Oscar winner says it’s. “That’s what I understand. That’s what Colin [Firth] said.”

The actress appeared stylish and understated for the occasion — held at Jazz at Lincoln Center — in a structured, satin ankle-length costume with a Bardot prime and a belted waist. Zellweger’s closed-toe pumps complimented her Fifties-style look, which additionally featured an updo and minimal make-up.

And whereas it’s been practically 10 years since we noticed her play the a part of Bridget on the massive display, the Texan star advised PEOPLE in a second interview on Feb. 12, that she had no hesitation about returning to the position.

“Bridget feels like an old friend,” Zellweger stated.

As for Bridget’s British accent, she admitted she saved it the entire time they have been filming in and round London.

“I wouldn’t say it was method acting as much as it was lazy,” the star shared. “I didn’t want to start every morning trying to make my vowels sound right. I just wanted it to be a habit. I didn’t want to work that hard!”

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However, Zellweger says this iteration of Bridget Jones felt completely different than the others, because it depicts Jones nonetheless reeling from the loss of life of her husband Mark Darcy (Firth) who died 4 years beforehand. 

“We were familiar with how emotional the material was because the novel had been out for a while,” she stated.

“But the script was so superbly written that the emotion simply sneaks up on you. You suppose you’re heading in a single course that feels acquainted, after which yeah, it simply will get you,” she added.

Zellweger is not the one forged member tearing up at Mad About the Boy. During a Nov. 13 look on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show with Julia Cunningham, Grant, 64, stated he cried when he first learn the screenplay.

“It’s received an enormous quantity of coronary heart. It made me cry,” he stated, including that the movie was additionally, “extraordinarily humorous.”