Since the premiere of Bridgerton's second season, which saw Jonathan Bailey in the lead role as the eldest Bridgerton, Anthony, his career has flourished. Along with continuing to play the viscount in the regency romance, he also starred in the mini-series Fellow Travelers and he joined the Wicked cast to play Fiyero. Now, his year has gotten even busier as he revealed the story behind how he landed a role in Heartstopper Season 3.
It was announced recently that Jonathan Bailey had joined Heartstopper to play Charlie Spring’s celebrity crush Jack Maddox, an Instagram-famous author. It turns out, the Bridgerton star actually landed the part because he actively asked to be part of the show. Speaking with Variety at the Met Gala, Bailey explained how much this show means to him and told the story behind his casting, saying:
Like so many people, I watched the first series and thought it was one of the biggest, most beautiful gifts to so many people to so many people, and I wish I had that growing up. I had a mutual friend who knows [executive producer Patrick Walters] and I just said, ‘If there’s anything I could do to help and be a part of that story.’
Of course, the timing of all this is impeccable. On the 2024 TV schedule alone Bailey is booked and busy as he obviously is set to star in Season 3 of Bridgerton, and now he’s joined another one of Netflix’s best shows that’s slated to come out this year.
It’s expected that his role will be a small cameo in the series. However, Bailey didn’t confirm how many days he filmed on the show when asked about it. So, we don’t actually know how much screen time he’ll have.
No matter what, it’s clear that Heartstopper is a passion project for Jonathan Bailey. He identifies as a gay man, and he has spoken at length about his identity and the importance of LGBTQ+ representation. To that point, he told the outlet why the Netflix YA show he’s set to play a part in is so important, explaining:
It’s something that’s really has changed the way people could grow and communicate around who they are.
Continuing to gush about Heartstopper and its positive impact, he noted that the show is not just for the LGBTQ+ community, it’s for everyone:
It’s not just for our community. It’s for every person who is a member of a family who has a member of the LGBT+ community. It helps all of us.
Overall, his enthusiasm for this show was palpable, and the fact that he simply asked to be on it brought me an immense amount of joy.
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Luckily, we won’t have to wait long to see Jonathan Bailey back on Netflix in both Heartstopper and Bridgerton. Both shows are entering their junior seasons, with Bridgerton scheduled to premiere part one on May 16 and Heartstopper set to drop in October. So, make sure your Netflix subscriptions are up to date and ready for use, because you aren’t going to want to miss this actor in the beloved role that made him a star and in a lovely show that he asked to be a part of.
Riley Utley
Weekend Editor
Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite showsTed LassoandThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift toFire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.
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