Let's examine the life of actor Jonathan Bailey, who decided to become an actor at a young age, is known for appearing in many scenes, TV shows and movies, and finally gained international recognition with the "Bridgerton" series.
His full name is Jonathan Stuart Bailey, he was born on April 25, 1988 in the Oxfordshire town of Wallingford. He was born to a mother who is an audiologist and a father who is the general manager of a company. Growing up in Benson and Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Bailey is the youngest and only son of four siblings.
He decided to become an actress when he was five years old when his grandmother took her to a play. He made his stage debut in Noah's Ark, a primary school production. Bailey began his education at the local Benson Church of England Primary School, where he took ballet lessons. He then continued with The Oratory School and later enrolled at Magdalen College School in Oxford. Here, he played piano and clarinet on a music scholarship. Bailey, who started working with a talent representative at the age of 15, did not want to go to university and study at the theater school to continue his acting career.
At the age of seven, Bailey auditioned through his dance club and took different alternate roles in the 1995 Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) production of "A Christmas Carol," which was screened at London's Barbican Theatre. The next year, he starred in the television series "Bramwell". He also played Little Baptiste in the romantic drama film "Children of Paradise" (French title: Les Enfants du Paradis). Additionally, he played the role of Gavroche in the West End production of the historical novel "Les Misérables".
In 2001, he appeared as Prince Arthur in the RSC production of William Shakespeare's historical play "King John". In 2004, he appeared in the family fantasy comedy-drama adventure film adaptation of "Five Children and It", based on the novel of the same name directed by John Stephenson. In 2006, he took part in the re-enactment of the play "Beautiful Thing", which was shown at the Sound Theatre. He then made guest appearances in the medical soap opera "Doctors" and the police-style television series "The Bill".
He made his television debut as Danny Gordon in the sitcom "Off the Hook". In 2011, he starred as Leonardo da Vinci in the action-adventure television series "Leonardo" aired on CBBC. He won four KidScreen Awards for his performance. That same year, he played Flatpack, a student-athlete, in a semi-improvised British television sitcom called "Campus".
Later in the year, he was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Evening Standard Theater Awards for his performance in David Hare's play "South Downs", which was screened at the Minerva Theatre. From 2012 to 2013, he appeared as Tom Mason in the Disney Channel musical comedy television series "Groove High".
He later gained popularity and recognition by playing local journalist Olly Stevens in the crime drama television series "Broadchurch". He also appeared as Cassio in the production of William Shakespeare's "Othello" directed by Nicholas Hytner. He did this as Tim Price in the musical "American Psycho" directed by Rupert Goold and screened at the Almeida Theatre.
In 2014, he starred as Geoffrey Thurlow in the drama film "Testament of Youth" directed by James Kent and based on the World War I memoir of the same name. He later appeared as Sam in the comedy series "Crashing" written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. He then acted as Herod in the drama movie "The Young Messiah" directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh.
In the following years, he appeared with Ian McKellen in the play "King Lear" written by William Shakespeare, which was shown at the Chichester Festival Theatre. He did this as Wheeler in the biographical drama film "The Mercy" directed by James Marsh. The film, which did not do well at the box office, resulted in generally mixed reviews.
The next year, he appeared in Peter Gill's play "The York Realist", which was screened at the Donmar Warehouse. His performance was met with rave reviews by many newspapers and magazines. In 2018, he participated in the 2018 West End production of the musical "Company" directed by Marianne Elliott, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, as the gender-swapped role of Jamie, written as a female character named Amy. He won the Laurence Olivier Award for his performance.
Since 2020, Bailey has starred as one of the main cast members as Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton in the historical fiction - romance streaming television series "Bridgerton" created for Netflix and based on a book series. Bailey received great acclaim for his performance, gaining international recognition and popularity. Its character, which is the main subject of the second season of the series, became the most watched English television series on Netflix with its first viewing. At the same time, the series managed to debut at number one in 92 countries.
In the following years, he appeared in the West End reenactment of Mike Bartlett's play "Cock", which was shown at the Ambassadors Theatre. Bailey, who received great acclaim with his performance, was also applauded and praised by many newspaper and magazine commentators. In 2024, he will appear as Fiyero Tigelaar in the epic musical fantasy film "Wicked", based on the musical of the same name and directed by Jon M.Chu. The first part of the movie will be released on November 27, 2024 and the second part in December 2025.
Private life
In 2018, Bailey announced that he has been gay since he was in his early 20s.
An avid cyclist, Bailey is also fond of paddleboarding and mountaineering. In addition, Bailey has participated in marathons and triathlons, as well as climbing Everest base camp in Nepal in 2018. Described by the media as a sex symbol, Bailey was included in Time magazine's annual "Next Generation Leaders" list in 2022. In addition, Bailey has been met with praise and positive comments by many newspapers, magazines and commentators.
In 2020, Attitude magazine ranked Bailey on its inaugural list of "LGBTQ+ pioneers who changed the world". In 2022, Variety magazine included Bailey on its "Power of Pride" list of the most influential queer artists in Hollywood.