Jonathan Bailey reflects on his rapid rise from a&nbsp;Bridgerton&nbsp;breakout to&nbsp;Wicked&nbsp;and&nbsp;Jurassic World: Rebirth, opening up about breaking barriers for gay actors and life post-spotlight.

<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/jonathan-bailey-interview-anthony-bridgerton-season-2-netflix-gay-actor-private-life" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jonathan Bailey</a>&nbsp;has been on a fast track to global stardom. The British actor first shot to fame as Anthony Bridgerton in Netflix&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/bridgerton-star-jonathan-bailey-season-3-kanthony-kiss" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bridgerton</a>, a role that made him an international heartthrob and propelled him from the London stage to major&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/tags/hollywood">Hollywood</a>&nbsp;franchises. Now, Bailey is set to star in not one but two massive film releases&mdash;playing Fiyero again in the highly anticipated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/wicked-movie-details-ariana-grande-cynthia-erivo-trailer-release-date" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wicked: For Good</a>, and Dr. Henry Loomis in&nbsp;Jurassic World: Rebirth, alongside Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali.
In a candid new interview with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/jonathan-bailey-interview-jurassic-world-rebirth-bridgerton-1236293095/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hollywood Reporter</a>, Bailey opened up about the pressure of being an openly gay actor in a historically heteronormative industry, how&nbsp;Bridgerton&nbsp;shifted the trajectory of his career, and what it means to step into a blockbuster like&nbsp;Jurassic. &ldquo;Being an out gay actor, historically, meant that you wouldn&rsquo;t be able to play straight and there weren&rsquo;t any gay parts to play, anyway,&rdquo; Bailey told&nbsp;THR. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s obviously changed, massively.&rdquo;
Despite that lingering bias, Bailey became a romantic lead beloved by audiences of all genders. His performance in&nbsp;Bridgerton&nbsp;made him one of the breakout stars of the series and ultimately led to his casting in&nbsp;Wicked&mdash;a role that earned him a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/best-speeches-sag-awards-2025-jane-fonda-kieran-culkin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SAG Award</a>&nbsp;nomination for Best Supporting Actor.&nbsp;&ldquo;You have to unlearn a lot of narratives about yourself that an industry tells you,&rdquo; he said. &rdquo;If you&rsquo;re gay, there&rsquo;s a glass ceiling.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Any sort of sense of prejudice against sexuality is something to fight against, and what better way to do that than to go and play any kind of character," Bailey added.
Determined to make a difference beyond the screen, Bailey launched&nbsp;<a href="https://theshamelessfund.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Shameless&nbsp;Fund</a>, dedicated to raising awareness for LGBTQ+ non-profits through creative collaborations. But despite the progress he&rsquo;s witnessed in recent years, he still acknowledges the pressure that comes with his visibility.

&ldquo;There&rsquo;s moments where, yes, you have to be excellent to prove that you can do it. And it&rsquo;s not like I haven&rsquo;t felt that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s the weight of history. And there&rsquo;s endless brilliant people who have come before you who have changed the way that people see sexuality.&rdquo;
Bailey&rsquo;s casting in&nbsp;Jurassic World: Rebirth&nbsp;marks another major milestone. Following the success and scale of&nbsp;Wicked, which reportedly had a $700 million budget, his leap into the&nbsp;Jurassic&nbsp;universe cements his place among today&rsquo;s leading men. His acting career&nbsp;hasn&rsquo;t been without hesitation, though.
Bailey almost didn&rsquo;t audition for&nbsp;Bridgerton&nbsp;at all. At the time, he was finishing a demanding run in the 2018 revival of Stephen Sondheim&rsquo;s&nbsp;Company&nbsp;and wasn&rsquo;t sure he had the energy for a major TV production: &ldquo;When you go and film something like&nbsp;Bridgerton, and you say goodbye to your friends, your family, it&rsquo;s all-encompassing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just feel that maybe&nbsp;Bridgerton&nbsp;was just a smidge quicker than I was prepared for.&rdquo;
After the premiere of&nbsp;Bridgerton&nbsp;Season 2, Bailey returned to the stage in&nbsp;Cock, and saw a new wave of theatergoers pack the house&mdash;many of them curious to see the&nbsp;star live.&nbsp;
Though his character may not take center stage in future&nbsp;Bridgerton&nbsp;seasons, Bailey is happy to continue with the franchise. &ldquo;I know how important familiarity of character and story and consistency is in these long-running series,&rdquo; he said.
With a whirlwind press tour ahead for&nbsp;Jurassic World: Rebirth, followed by&nbsp;Wicked: For Good, Bailey has yet to reveal what his next role might be. But one thing&rsquo;s certain: he&rsquo;s entering this next chapter with an empowered mindset.

Getty Images.

Jonathan Bailey Talks Breaking Barriers, His 'Jurassic' Role

L'OFFICIEL HOMMES PHILIPPINES JUNE 2025 - Cole Micek ₱600

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES JUNE/JULY 2025 - Intimate Encounters ₱600

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES MAY 2025 - Gabbi Garcia ₱600

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES APRIL 2025 - Solenn Heussaff ₱600

L'OFFICIEL HOMMES PHILIPPINES MARCH 2025 - Creator ₱600

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES MARCH 2025 - Connecting Women ₱600

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES FEBRUARY 2024 - Heart Evangelista (Cover 2) ₱600 

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES FEBRUARY 2024 - Heart Evangelista (Cover 1) ₱600 

L'OFFICIEL HOMMES PHILIPPINES DECEMBER/JANUARY 2024/2025 - Renaissance (Cover 2) ₱600

L'OFFICIEL HOMMES PHILIPPINES DECEMBER/JANUARY 2024/2025 - Renaissance (Cover 1) ₱600

Jonathan Bailey Talks Breaking Barriers, His 'Jurassic' Role

Recommended posts for you

Hommes

Dreaming of Better Futures: Leeroy New

Hommes

Dreaming of Better Futures: Issa Barte

Hommes

Dreaming of Better Futures: Derek Tumala

Culture

The Joy of Blues: Joan Punyet Miró on Salt, Spirit, and Surrealism

Hommes