Jonathan Bailey

Jonathan Stuart Bailey is an English actor who works across stage, screen, and musical productions. His accomplishments include a Laurence Olivier Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award, alongside nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and four Actor Awards. He was named to Time magazine's Time 100 Next list of influential artists and was designated as People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2025.

Bailey was born on 25 April 1988 in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, to Carole, an audiologist, and Stuart Bailey, a managing director of Rowse Honey. Raised in Benson and Brightwell-cum-Sotwell alongside three older sisters, he decided to pursue acting at age five after attending a stage production of Oliver!. He attended Benson Primary School, The Oratory School, and Magdalen College School, Oxford, where he held a music scholarship playing piano and clarinet. After securing a talent agent at age fifteen, he opted not to attend university or drama school.

He began his career as a child actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in productions such as A Christmas Carol in 1995, Les Enfants du Paradis in 1996, and King John in 2001. By age eight, he played Gavroche in a West End production of Les Misérables. He made his television debut in the 1996 period drama Bramwell and his feature film debut in Five Children and It in 2004. In 2006, he took over the lead role in a London revival of the play Beautiful Thing, and later landed his first television leading role in the 2009 sitcom Off the Hook.

In the 2010s, Bailey starred in the series Leonardo, the comedy Campus, and the Disney Channel musical-comedy Groove High. He achieved broader recognition on screen playing journalist Olly Stevens in the crime drama Broadchurch and estate agent Sam in the comedy Crashing. His notable stage performances during this period included playing Cassio in Othello at the National Theatre in 2013 and Jamie in the musical The Last Five Years in 2016. In 2018, he joined the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company, winning the 2019 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical.

Bailey achieved international prominence starring as Anthony, 9th Viscount Bridgerton, in the Netflix series Bridgerton starting in 2020. He subsequently starred in the 2022 West End revival of the play Cock and portrayed Tim Laughlin in the 2023 miniseries Fellow Travelers, winning a Critics' Choice Television Award. In film, he played Fiyero Tigelaar / The Scarecrow in the musical fantasy Wicked in 2024, earning an Actor Award nomination, and reprised the role in Wicked: For Good in 2025. That same year, he starred in the science fiction thriller Jurassic World Rebirth and played the title role in a stage production of Richard II.

Beyond live-action screen and stage work, Bailey voices the character G'raha Tia in the Final Fantasy XIV video game series. Outside of acting, he participates in philanthropic initiatives with a focus on the queer community, including founding the LGBTQ+ charity The Shameless Fund in 2024.