The Rise of Jonathan Bailey: Bridgerton Noble, Prince & Paleontologist

MsMojo

From the West End to Hollywood, Jonathan Bailey's journey is anything but ordinary. Discover how this versatile actor transformed from a Bridgerton noble to a prince, breaking barriers and captivating audiences across stage and screen with his undeniable talent and charm.

Transcript

00:00To be able to go from Bridgerton and then to go straight into a sweeping gay love story in this way

00:04is just the first step.

00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're delving into Jonathan Bailey's career route from the

00:11West End to Hollywood, covering his roles in Bridgerton, Wicked, and Jurassic World Rebirth.

00:24Before he was Lord Anthony Bridgerton, Fierro, or Dr. Henry Loomis,

00:28Jonathan Bailey was treading the boards on London stages.

00:32In the mid to late 90s, he was spotted during a ballet class and recruited to the Royal Shakespeare Company.

00:37Growing up, he played the role of theater kid, not pushed by his parents, he says,

00:43but by his own passion for acting, singing, and dance.

00:46He later made his West End debut as Gavroche in Les Miserables.

00:50He worked steadily through the 2000s and 2010s, moving between stage, film, and TV,

00:56with roles in titles like Broadchurch, Chewing Gum, St. Trinian's, and Heartstopper.

01:01You're a big inspiration to me.

01:03That is so lovely to hear. Classics was my favorite at school.

01:07What's your name?

01:08Charlie.

01:09Well, Charlie.

01:11Study hard.

01:13And don't ignore your Latin vocab.

01:18In 2019, he won an Olivier Award for playing Jamie in Marion Elliott's gender-swapped revival of Company.

01:25Honestly, his performance of Getting Married Today alone made him a worthy winner.

01:29Pardon me, is everybody there?

01:30Because if everybody's there, I want to thank you all for coming to the wedding.

01:33I'd appreciate you going.

01:34Even more, I mean, you must have lots of better things to do.

01:35And not a word of it to Paul.

01:36Remember, Paul, you know the man I'm getting married.

01:38But I'm not because I wouldn't ruin anyone as wonderful as he is.

01:40Sure, he's been working since the 90s, but the 2020s have catapulted him into a whole new league of stardom.

01:47Beloved by fans across genres, on stage and on screen.

01:51As he told The Hollywood Reporter, quote,

01:53It's hard to express how surprised I was every step of the way.

01:56Words of flattery are beautiful and sweet, but they are also hollow, unless accompanied by action.

02:04Of course, his big breakout came in 2020, when he sent hearts racing as Lord Anthony in Bridgerton.

02:09And believe it or not, he almost passed on it.

02:13He was deep into company when he got the Bridgerton script, and was ready for a break.

02:17He even passed it to a friend, thinking they might be a better fit.

02:21But his agent pushed him to audition anyway.

02:23It is because I've never met anyone like you.

02:28And it's maddening how much you consume my very being.

02:33Surprisingly, the part he read for was not Anthony, but Simon Bassett.

02:36After company, he still took that well-earned break and headed to the West Coast,

02:41where he also met the production team.

02:43And the rest is history.

02:45He already stood out in season one, but season two is where he fully captured hearts and sent pulses racing.

02:52He gave Anthony depth, intensity, and emotional weight.

02:55I know I am imperfect, but I will humble myself before you, because I cannot imagine my life without you.

03:03His ability to show heartbreak, desire, and restraint, often just through a glance, didn't go unnoticed.

03:09Plus, he could still be incredibly funny.

03:12And let's just say it as it is, his sex appeal didn't hurt either.

03:15Kate wasn't the only one falling for this Viscount.

03:17Seems the two of us are finally seeing eye to eye on something.

03:21I suppose we are.

03:24But having the world collectively swoon over him wasn't the only reason Bailey stood out as a romantic lead.

03:30When was the last time you saw an openly gay man play the straight love interest?

03:34Exactly.

03:35This was huge.

03:36You were the bane of my existence.

03:44And the object of all my desires.

03:46He showed the industry and audiences that being part of the LGBTQIA plus community

03:51doesn't mean you should be boxed into certain roles.

03:54As Bailey has pointed out, it wasn't long ago that queer actors were dismissed as not believable in straight roles

04:00and routinely lost out on queer ones to straight actors.

04:03Someone said to me, would you have been able to play a straight lead or a gay character in a romantic series?

04:09What would feel more possible at the age of 12?

04:13I probably would have said a straight lead.

04:14The tides finally were shifting.

04:16In 2023, he starred in Fellow Travelers, which followed two gay men living through the turbulence of the mid-to-late 20th century.

04:24Bailey said that he, quote,

04:25had looked for a sweeping gay love story, but they were scarce.

04:29So when this opportunity came along, he knew he had to take it, saying,

04:32I know I'll be proud of it for the rest of my career.

04:35As a gay man, I felt like I've been hunting and sniffing this out for so long.

04:41Then, just a few years after becoming virtually every Netflix user's boyfriend,

04:46Bailey was charming moviegoers as Fierro, prince of Winky Country, in Wicked.

04:50Fierro, Tegela.

04:53Winky Country.

04:54Coming off Bridgerton, the role felt especially meaningful in a show long embraced by queer audiences

05:01for its themes of identity and otherness.

05:04His recent role in Fellow Travelers was another reason this felt all the more poignant.

05:09As a performer, Bailey proved he was anything but genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow.

05:14Although, boy, could he act those qualities brilliantly.

05:17Director John M. Chu praised his fearless commitment to every idea,

05:21no matter how ambitious or ridiculous.

05:24What I love about Johnny, the reason we have him in this movie,

05:27is you have to have a fearless actor.

05:29Somebody who is not scared of making a fool of himself, trying, playing.

05:33It is at the core of who Fierro is.

05:35Meanwhile, audiences were drawn to his charm, cheekiness, emotional depth,

05:40and, of course, his chemistry with, well, everyone.

05:44Apparently, even casting agents and the like have noted his likability factor

05:47as just one reason they want to work with him.

05:50No wonder there's a running joke that he could have chemistry with anyone.

05:53Maybe even a dinosaur.

05:55Make the world go away.

05:57That's what you feel when he looks at you.

05:59Which brings us to our next point.

06:02Yes, Bailey broke a huge barrier.

06:04And now he's doing it again.

06:06Co-leading Jurassic World Rebirth alongside Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali.

06:11Sorry, what mission?

06:11In fact, it was apparently Bailey's gravity-defying performance in Dancing Through Life

06:16that made Universal Studios think he would be the perfect fit for the Jurassic franchise.

06:21He's fully aware of the weight on his shoulders.

06:23But based on what we've seen so far, it's clear he's more than ready to own it.

06:27These dinosaurs were too dangerous for the original park.

06:31Please don't say they're raptors.

06:34They're raptors.

06:35When you look at the franchise's past leads, Bailey might not have been the obvious pick.

06:39But honestly, he's a powerhouse talent who makes keeping audiences hooked look effortless.

06:44And his hold on them goes way past a certain pair of thirst-worthy glasses.

06:48I'm thrilled that people are having a hormonal explosion linked to optical supports.

06:57But I think, yeah, glasses can go a long way.

07:01So let's have the summer of slutty-looking glasses.

07:04He's proving there's no role out of his reach, moving seamlessly from romantically to action-adventurer.

07:10Indeed, this role is exactly that.

07:12A proving ground to show he can hold his own in Hollywood,

07:15especially since some giants in the biz are still skeptical over his ability to headline.

07:19Sharing the screen with heavyweights like Johansson and Ali,

07:23and the film's predicted massive opening weekend will put his star power to the test.

07:28From where we stand, he's already shown that no matter the setting,

07:31he always gives a dino-mite performance.

07:34We need DNA from the three biggest dinosaurs.

07:37Do we have to get a sample from an egg?

07:41I suppose we could try and get it from the parent,

07:43but they're a flying carnival the size of an F-16.

07:45What makes his rise so exciting is that it's not the same overnight success story.

07:49It's a slow burn turned supernova.

07:52He didn't go to drama school, didn't land a flashy debut.

07:55Instead, he's been steadily stacking credits since childhood and honing his craft on stage and screen,

08:01long before most people could pick him out of a lineup.

08:04She is one of the people that has, you know, obviously given me incredible opportunities,

08:09but also just sort of kept me honed in on the craft, I guess.

08:13He moves seamlessly between Shakespeare, Sondheim, and Regency-era drama without breaking a sweat

08:19or losing any of his trademark charm.

08:22His backstory makes his current stardom feel earned rather than manufactured.

08:26What sets him apart even more is how deliberately he's steered his own career.

08:31As we've mentioned, Bailey has often spoken about pushing back against industry expectations,

08:35especially as a gay actor.

08:37Because of a digital age where we hear more opinions, for better or for worse,

08:42I think people are allowed to question their expectations that are put on them.

08:48He's also been vocal about the work it took to avoid being boxed in,

08:51and how determined he was to resist typecasting.

08:54He's carved out a path on his own terms, and hopefully created space for others while doing it.

08:59He often points to Bridgerton as a game-changer,

09:02praising the show for giving a platform to people usually excluded from period dramas.

09:06There are no limits to where Bridgerton is going to go in terms of allowing people to be seen.

09:11And so that's why I think when people enjoy Bridgerton, it's a success,

09:16and it's a celebration for all of us.

09:18It's a reflection on how we are moving as a society.

09:22It seems that no matter how high his Hollywood star climbs,

09:25the theater will always be his homecoming, though.

09:28He recently starred in Cock in the West End,

09:30a play about a gay man experiencing a crisis of identity and desire after meeting a woman.

09:35Super resonant and even more prescient now with the conversation about labeling and gender

09:41and how that's changing in a really fascinating way.

09:45He earned critical acclaim and drew such intense crowds

09:48that local authorities reportedly issued a noise complaint over the scenes at the stage door.

09:53So it feels like, you know, we've sort of got our war paint on,

09:55we're reclaiming the theater and hopefully gonna do everyone proud.

09:59He followed it up with Richard II at London's Bridge Theater,

10:02bringing Shakespeare to a fresh audience while still impressing the purists.

10:06He's not planning on stepping away from Bridgerton either.

10:09As long as he's wanted and it fits into his schedule, he's in.

10:12He says,

10:13I look forward to in another however many years,

10:17when we've done the eighth season,

10:18to sit around and be like, look what we all did together.

10:22Then again, he reportedly filmed Bridgerton,

10:24fellow travelers, and Wicked all around the same time.

10:28Bailey stays grounded, no matter the project.

10:30For him, it's about how the work connects with people on screen or on stage.

10:35I've been thinking.

10:36Yeah, I heard.

10:38About the, uh, the line cover, Dr. Dillman.

10:43I think about that day a lot.

10:46So do I.

10:47He's even spoken about how emotional he felt

10:49filming a scene opposite a makeshift dinosaur on the Jurassic set for the first time.

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