Jonathan Bailey

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  Jonathan Bailey was five years old when his grandmother took him to see Oliver! in London, and that single outing settled what he wanted to do with his life. His first ever appearance on a stage came in a primary school production of Noah's Ark. He played a raindrop.

  By 2025, the English actor was named the highest grossing actor of the year, thanks to two enormous box office successes. A raindrop in a school play is a very long way from that. How did a boy from Oxfordshire get there without ever attending drama school? Why do critics keep praising him for Shakespeare, for sung-through musicals and for romantic television in the same breath? And what does he choose to do with the attention that follows?

  903413

• 2. A Household of Women

  ›

  Jonathan Stuart Bailey was born on the 25th of April 1988 in Wallingford, Oxfordshire. His mother, Carole, worked as an audiologist, and his father, Stuart, was the managing director of Rowse Honey. He grew up in nearby Benson and Brightwell-cum-Sotwell alongside three older sisters. Bailey later described the family as a "co-operative of four brilliant women and a dad who has an incredible work ethic".

  Benson Primary School, a local school with Church of England ties, came first. He then moved to The Oratory School, taking ballet lessons while he studied. A music scholarship later carried him to Magdalen College School in Oxford, where he played the piano and the clarinet.

  At fifteen, Bailey secured a talent agent and started booking acting work. He eventually declined his university offer and chose not to go to drama school. He says that decision kept him grounded in the performing arts: "I've never gone in as the overdog, and that's liberating and I don't want that to ever change. I just want to allow my own experiences to come through."

  Long before any of those choices, a dance club in Henley-on-Thames had already sent him into his first professional audition room.

  213412

• 3. Child Stage Years

  ›

  In 1995, at the age of seven, Bailey won two alternating parts in the Royal Shakespeare Company's A Christmas Carol. He played Tiny Tim and Young Scrooge at the Barbican Theatre in London. The audition came through his dance club in Henley-on-Thames. He sang "Where Is Love?" from Oliver! to win the job.

  The following year, 1996, brought his television debut in the Victorian period drama Bramwell. That same year he played Little Baptiste in the Royal Shakespeare Company's Les Enfants du Paradis. By the age of eight he was performing as Gavroche in a West End production of Les Misérables. He also played Michael Darling in a pantomime of Peter Pan at The Hexagon.

  In 2001, Bailey took the part of Prince Arthur in the Royal Shakespeare Company's King John. His feature film debut followed in 2004, in Five Children and It, an adaptation of E. Nesbit's fantasy novel of the same name.

  On the last day of his A levels in 2006, Bailey began rehearsing a London revival of the play Beautiful Thing. He took over the lead role from Andrew Garfield. The Telegraph wrote that Bailey "memorably lit up" the production. Guest parts in long-running British television staples such as Doctors and The Bill came next.

  His first leading role on television arrived in 2009, in the BBC sitcom Off the Hook, which followed a group of first-year university students.

  1417181920

• 4. Small Screen Ascent

  ›

  In 2011, Bailey played the title role in Leonardo, a CBBC action-adventure series. It followed a young Leonardo da Vinci and his friends in 15th century Florence. The show ran for two series, spawned an online game and received four KidScreen Awards. The same year he starred in Campus, a semi-improvised sitcom, as Flatpack, a student athlete with Olympic potential.

  Groove High, a Disney Channel musical comedy, ran from 2012 to 2013 for 26 episodes. It mixed live action with animation. Bailey played the popstar Tom, singing the songs and also voicing the character's animated form.

  In 2013, Bailey became widely known as Olly Stevens, a local journalist in the first two series of the hit ITV crime drama Broadchurch. In 2014 he guest starred in the Doctor Who episode "Time Heist" as Psi, an augmented human. The Independent called the episode a fast-paced caper and said Bailey stole the show. He also had a supporting role in the 2014 period film Testament of Youth. Comedy called him back with the BBC satire W1A, where he played Jack for three series.

  In 2016, Bailey starred as Sam, a sex-obsessed estate agent, in Crashing. It was Phoebe Waller-Bridge's first television project, and W magazine described it as a "twisted version of Friends". In 2017 he appeared in the second episode of the second series of Michaela Coel's sitcom Chewing Gum. He played Ash, a romantic interest for Coel's character, Tracey.

  The 2017 video game expansion Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood introduced Bailey as the voice of G'raha Tia. He has kept the role through Shadowbringers in 2019, Endwalker in 2021 and Dawntrail in 2024. Bailey enjoys the part and has praised the writing as almost Shakespearian.

  Since 2020, Bailey has starred in Bridgerton, the Shondaland-produced Netflix adaptation of Julia Quinn's Regency romance novels. He plays Anthony, 9th Viscount Bridgerton. The second series centred on his character and became the most watched English-language series on Netflix at the time. The Daily Beast praised his "exquisite lead performance" and wrote that "he has an exceptional ability to carry his angst, pain, and guilt with him without bogging down things into a somber drag."

  In 2023, Bailey starred opposite Matt Bomer in Fellow Travelers, a Showtime adaptation. The Washington Post called his performance "sensational". It won him a Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries and a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

  The following year, he made a guest appearance in the third series of the teen drama Heartstopper.

  1123244266

• 5. Blockbuster Films

  ›

  In Wicked, released in 2024, Bailey played Fiyero in a musical fantasy film based on the stage musical of the same name. Critics singled him out. The Guardian wrote that he "uncorks an outrageous scene-stealer as the hetero-camp Fiyero". ABC News called his work a "display of song, dance and acting virtuosity".

  Bailey also contributed to the film's soundtrack with the song "Dancing Through Life". It debuted at number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number eighty-six. His performance earned him a nomination for an Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role. The film's cast also received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

  In 2025, Bailey starred in the science fiction film Jurassic World Rebirth, directed by Gareth Edwards. That same year he returned as Fiyero in the sequel Wicked: For Good.

  8183848586

• 6. The Stage Career

  ›

  David Hare's play South Downs, staged at the Minerva Theatre in 2011, earned Bailey a nomination for Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. The play later transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatre. The Telegraph described him as a future star and named him among the brightest up-and-coming actors on the West End stage.

  In 2013, Nicholas Hytner, then artistic director of the Royal National Theatre, cast Bailey as Cassio in Othello at the Olivier Theatre. Bailey considers this his big break, and Hytner became his mentor. National Theatre Live sent the production to cinemas. The Washington Post called his "likable, open-faced" and "smoothly ambitious" Cassio "splendid". Hytner also directed him as Valentine Coverly, from Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, in one vignette of National Theatre Live: 50 Years On Stage.

  Bailey originated the role of Tim Price in Duncan Sheik's musical American Psycho at the Almeida Theatre, directed by Rupert Goold. In 2016 he headlined the London production of The Last Five Years at the St. James Theatre as Jamie. Jason Robert Brown wrote the music and lyrics and directed. Mark Shenton of The Stage called the production "poignant" and said Bailey was "a real vocal surprise". Edward Seckerson of The Arts Desk gave it five stars and called Bailey "sensationally good".

  In 2017, Bailey appeared alongside Ian McKellen in King Lear at Chichester Festival Theatre. As Edgar, he drew rave reviews, and the Evening Standard called his work "a touching study of transformation".

  From February to April 2018, Bailey starred in Peter Gill's The York Realist, a Donmar Warehouse and Sheffield Theatres co-production. The Evening Standard, The Arts Desk and Sunday Express each gave it five stars. The Independent, also with five stars, called it "a pitch-perfect, impeccably acted production".

  Later in 2018, Bailey joined the West End production of Stephen Sondheim's Company, directed by Marianne Elliott. He originated the gender-swapped role of Jamie, which was initially written as a female character named Amy. The Times reported that he "received an ovation every night" after "Getting Married Today", a mile-a-minute technical feat about marriage jitters. Variety called his rendition a must-see West End event. It won him the 2019 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical.

  In 2022, Bailey headlined a West End revival of Mike Bartlett's play Cock at the Ambassadors Theatre, reuniting him with Company director Marianne Elliott. The Observer called it an "immaculate production", and The Arts Desk called it "brutal, bruising, and brilliant". Variety praised his "whiplash comic timing".

  Until May 2025, Bailey played the title role in Hytner's production of Richard II at the Bridge Theatre. Reviews were positive, and he was nominated for Best Actor at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

  The summer of 2027 will bring him back to the Barbican Theatre, opposite his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande, in Elliott's production of Sunday in the Park with George.

  2829353757

• 7. Public Image

  ›

  The Los Angeles Times has said that Bailey's fans span "all genders and orientations", and media coverage has often called him a sex symbol. In 2022, Time magazine included him in its annual Next Generation Leaders and argued that he was giving the Hollywood heartthrob a new shape. In 2025, Time placed him on its Time 100 Next list of influential rising stars. People named him Sexiest Man Alive that same year, making him the first openly gay man to receive the title.

  Critic Peter Travers called Bailey "a dynamite actor equally adept at drama and musicals." Kerensa Cadenas of The Cut wrote that talking to him is "a lesson in charm" and called him "utterly hilarious". Douglas Greenwood of GQ observed that he is the kind of actor who would rather work than be famous.

  Phoebe Waller-Bridge, his former co-star, called him "completely brilliant" and "unbelievably charismatic in real life". She added: "Jonny operates at a different voltage. He's a meteorite of fun with an incredible amount of energy and playfulness." Marianne Elliott says he is "the nicest person you could ever hope to meet". She adds that when he acts, he can have an edge that feels "dangerous in a great way".

  Three days before Stephen Sondheim died in 2021, Elliott told the composer that Bailey would star in Cock. Sondheim, according to Elliott, "literally stopped in his tracks, closed his eyes, put his hand on his chest and said, 'Be still my beating heart'."

  Bailey is considered one of the leading LGBTQ+ figures in entertainment. He appeared on Attitude's Trailblazers list in 2020, Variety's Power of Pride list in 2022, Out's Most Impactful and Influential list in 2023 and The Independent's Pride List in 2024. GQ described him as one of the few gay British actors onscreen whose roles are not defined wholly by their sexuality. Out wrote that his visibility is inspiring LGBTQ+ performers to come out.

  95969799100

• 8. Visibility and Giving

  ›

  Bailey lives in Hove, East Sussex, and is an avid cyclist. He has competed in marathons and triathlons and also enjoys paddleboarding and mountaineering. In 2018, he hiked to Everest Base Camp in Nepal.

  That same year, 2018, Bailey came out publicly as gay. He had told friends and family privately in his early 20s but stayed silent in public for about another decade. He is cautious about discussing his sexuality, which he sees as a personal matter that "becomes a commodity and a currency". He is nonetheless committed to visibility and representation. "If I can fill spaces that I didn't have growing up, then I feel like that's a really brilliant thing," he has said, calling it "something I'll always strive to do".

  In 2019, Bailey took part in the National Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for the Scottish branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. In 2024 he ran the Hackney Half Marathon to benefit Just Like Us, an LGBTQ+ youth charity of which he is a patron.

  Also in 2024, Bailey founded The Shameless Fund, a charity that "aims to help members of the queer community across the world live freely and authentically". It raises money through celebrity and brand partnerships. Its debut collaboration was with the fashion brand Loewe on the "Drink Your Milk" collection.

  In 2025, Bailey worked with the eyewear brand Cubitts to re-imagine the glasses his character wears in Jurassic World Rebirth. Proceeds from the frames benefit the charity.

  3461799192