8 fun facts about Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey (you might be surprised to learn)

Get ready to watch Jonathan Bailey reprise his role as Anthony Bridgerton in the highly anticipated Bridgerton season 2 coming to Netflix on March 25!

Fans enjoyed watching the endlessly handsome Lord Anthony Bridgerton be overprotective of his unworldly younger sister Daphne Bridgerton as she made her debut on the marriage mart in season 1. But Anthony had his own love life to worry about too.

Anthony struggled with maintaining a long-term affair with opera singer Siena throughout the first season. However, things became too complicated, and Anthony was single by the end of the first season. Anthony is at the center of the story in the upcoming second season, and he’s on his own quest for love. It will be interesting to see how his love story unfolds, but we’re excited nonetheless.

As we wait for the new season of Bridgerton to land on Netflix, we’ve done a deep dive search on Jonathan Bailey to get to know him better. We’ve found some fun facts about Bailey that you might be surprised to learn, and we shared them right below!

Jonathan Bailey’s love for acting started at age 5

When Jonathan was five years old, he was taken to the theater to see a stage production of Oliver! After seeing that play, he instantly fell in love with acting.

Was Jonathan Bailey in Chewing Gum?

Yes, Jonathan played Ash in the television series. He appeared in the episode titled “Replacements” in season 2 of Chewing Gum.

Jonathan Bailey’s sideburns are real

If you were fascinated with Jonathan Bailey’s character (Anthony Bridgerton) sideburns in Bridgerton, you weren’t the only one. He spoke with The Cut in December 2020 and let everyone know that his sideburns are very much real and weren’t just for the show. He said, “They are real, baby. I fertilize them every day like a bonsai tree.”

Jonathan Bailey is an award-winning stage actor

In 2019, Jonathan won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for his role as Jamie in Company. This is the top award in British theatre. That same year, he was cast as Anthony Bridgerton in the hit Netflix original series Bridgerton.

Jonathan Bailey originally auditioned to play the Duke of Hastings

As reported by BBC America, Jonathan was very close to portraying Simon Basset, otherwise known as the Duke of Hastings in Bridgerton, until he met the showrunners and producers at Shondaland. They decided he was best suited as Anthony Bridgerton and the role of Simon Basset ended up going to Regé-Jean Page. I wonder how Bridgerton would’ve turned out with Jonathan as the Duke of Hastings instead of Regé-Jean Page.

Jonathan Bailey would’ve been a teacher if he wasn’t an actor

In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar in 2021, Jonathan spoke about respecting teachers. He called teachers “modern-day heroes” and said that he would’ve been a primary school teacher if he weren’t an actor.

Is Jonathan Bailey superstitious?

Yes, very much so! He spoke to Attitude magazine and said he has a strict set of superstitions that he must run through before performing on stage. Two of the superstitions that he would do before going out on stage were flicking his watch five times or taking half a paracetamol.

Jonathan Bailey was discouraged from coming out

Before Jonathan came out as gay in 2018, he was discouraged by fellow queer actors in the industry from coming out. He was told that if he were openly gay, it would tarnish his success in the entertainment industry.

Initially, Jonathan believed what they said before reaching a point where he started putting his happiness over the naysayers. He told GQ that “I’d much prefer to hold my boyfriend’s hand in public or be able to put my own face picture on Tinder and not be so concerned about that than getting a part.”

Were you surprised by any of these fun facts about Jonathan Bailey? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!