Jonathan Bailey: Wicked and Bridgerton actor opens up on the struggles of fame – and potential parenting plans
Actor Jonathan Bailey has said he “really struggled” with fame after starring in the hit Netflix show Bridgerton.
The 36-year-old, who plays Antony Bridgerton in the Regency-era drama, said after the series first aired in 2020 he found dealing with stardom “quite hard-hitting”.
“I really struggled initially; I was overwhelmed by it,” he told British Vogue.
“But the people in your life have to adapt too. That’s the hardest thing: you see them struggling before you see it in yourself, someone pushing past your dear mum and dad to get a picture.
“I’m really good now at saying no to photos.”
From playing a viscount in Bridgerton, Bailey has recently appeared as a prince, playing Fiyero in the film adaptation of Wicked, alongside Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
Describing it as a “masterpiece”, the British actor said when he watched it he sobbed.
Away from the stage and screen, Bailey opened up about his future and how much he would like to have children.
“It’s such a privilege for a man,” the star, who is openly gay, told the magazine.
Pic: Ben Weller
Pic: Ben Weller
He said he is currently reading books on adoption but couldn’t bring children into his lifestyle now because of his busy schedule.
“I want to make sure I’m going to be present. I’m reading books on adoption. I might co-parent with a woman, but I’m thinking it will be with a man.”
Bailey with his Bridgerton co-star Simone Ashley. Pic: Cover Images via AP Images
On his sexuality, Bailey said he only came out to his close friends and family in his early 20s and had previously been in a relationship with a woman for two years.
“It’s interesting with the binary,” he said, “where you’re perceived to be either this or that. That’s how I saw it at the time, but there are so many nuances to it.
“My experience of that relationship was not that I was in the shadows. She remains one of my best friends.
“I think other people understood my sexuality before I was even aware of it.”
The full interview is in the January edition of British Vogue. Pic: Ben Weller
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Earlier this year, Oxfordshire-born Bailey set up The Shameless Fund – a charity that aims to use brand collaborations to raise money to support LGBTQ+ rights and organisations.
He said in a previous Vogue interview that he wanted to “raise money without asking people to actually donate and sponsor, [but rather] invite people to experience art and beautiful, inspiring, naughty and exciting collaborations”.
Dame Judi Dench has revealed she can no longer leave her house alone due to her deteriorating eyesight.
The 90-year-old actress has macular degeneration, a condition which leads to a gradual loss of vision.
In a new interview on Trinny Woodall’s Fearless podcast, Dame Judi says “somebody will always be with me” when she leaves the house.
“I have to [have someone] now because I can’t see,” she continues. “And I will walk into something or fall over.”
Reflecting on how she used to feel about attending events alone, Dame Judi said she was “no good at that at all”.
“And fortunately, I don’t have to be [alone] now because I pretend now to have no eyesight,” she laughs.
In July 2023, Dame Judi said she was determined to work “as much as I can” despite her health issues.
“I mean, I can’t see on a film set anymore,” she told The Mirror’s Notebook magazine. “And I can’t see to read. So I can’t see much. But, you know, you just deal with it. Get on.”
Dame Judi with her daughter Finty Williams. Pic: PA
Dame Judi’s acting career began in the 1950s when she made her stage debut in a production of Hamlet at London’s Old Vic theatre.
In the decades since, she’s conquered the worlds of TV and film, winning an Oscar for her role in the 1998 movie Shakespeare In Love and, more recently, playing the head of MI6, M, alongside Daniel Craig’s James Bond.
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Dame Judi has also cemented herself as one of the UK’s best stage actresses, winning a string of Olivier awards for starring roles in plays including The Winter’s Tale and Macbeth.
Her most recent screen credit was in 2022, for a small role in Christmas film Spirited. She has continued to make public appearances and last October, she was a speaker at the Cheltenham Literary Festival.
From the sampled vocals of Mel & Kim to the instantly memorable lyrics of Rick Astley’s biggest hits, Stock, Aitken and Waterman’s songs ruled the UK charts in the late 1980s.
With a blue plaque being installed on the side of the Bermondsey building that housed their “hit factory”, the trio spoke to Sky News about spotting Kylie’s “spark” and claiming they “invented” AI.
At their peak in 1989, Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman songs made up a whopping 27% of the UK singles market.
It remains one of the most successful partnerships in the history of pop.
Waterman admits feeling “knocked out” by the 40 or so crowd that came to watch them receive the honour – including 1980s artists Brother Beyond, former staff who worked on their records, and fans.
“These are some of the kids that every day used to be here after school wanting autographs. Of course, they’re all grown up now!” laughs Waterman.
The partnership produced countless hits for some of the biggest stars at the time.
“We had a method of working, we tried to taper the songs to how we thought the public would perceive the artist and we were quite successful in that regard,” says Matt Aitken.
Waterman adds: “If it didn’t work, we didn’t bother.”
The trio wrote Kylie’s first hit, I Should Be So Lucky, in 20 minutes
They also penned Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up
In 1988, their success went into overdrive thanks to a collaboration with a young Australian soap actress called Kylie Minogue who they hadn’t even heard of at the time.
“When she arrived at the studio we were unaware that she was even turning up,” Mike Stock explains. “So we had to come up with a song pretty quick.”
They wrote her 1987 debut hit I Should Be So Lucky in just 20 minutes.
“She was a great deliverer of a song,” Aitken says.
“When she was sat in a corner you wouldn’t know she was there but the minute a camera went on… she sparked,” adds Pete Waterman.
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Back in the day most of their hits were recorded on a simple 24-track tape machine but now, with advances in AI software, songs can be produced in an instant.
So how do the trio feel about artificial intelligence being the new “hit factory”?
“AI? We invented it!” jokes Waterman.
“You’ve got to incorporate influences from the past but… the difference between AI and what we did [is] we had emotion,” he says.
“We fought over songs if a lyric didn’t work. It doesn’t work without emotion.”
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