The Barbican Theatre where Bailey made his professional acting debut at the age of seven for the Royal Shakespeare Company I just want to allow my own experiences to come through." Career
After securing a talent agent at 15 years old and booking acting roles, he eventually declined his university place and opted not to go to drama school, later saying that this kept him grounded in the performing arts: "I've never gone in as the overdog, and that's liberating and I don't want that to ever change. īailey attended The Oratory School while taking ballet lessons, and later studied at Magdalen College School, Oxford under a music scholarship, playing the piano and clarinet. His first ever appearance on stage was in a primary school production of Noah's Ark playing a raindrop. He described being brought up by "a co-operative of four brilliant women and a dad who has an incredible work ethic." Bailey decided that he wanted to be an actor at the age of five after his grandmother took him to see a production of Lionel Bart's Oliver! in London. He grew up in the neighbouring village of Benson, and is the youngest of four siblings and the only son. Jonathan Stuart Bailey was born on 25 April 1988 in the Oxfordshire town of Wallingford, to an audiologist mother and Rowse Honey managing director father. 2.3 Acclaim and worldwide recognition (2018–present).2.2 Rising popularity and breakthrough (2011–2017).The role garnered him critical acclaim and international recognition. In 2020, Bailey began playing Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton in the Netflix Regency romance drama Bridgerton.
On screen, Bailey starred in the CBBC action-adventure series Leonardo (2011–12) and Disney Channel musical-comedy Groove High (2012–13) before becoming known for his roles in ITV crime drama Broadchurch (2013–15), BBC satire W1A (2014–17), and Channel 4 comedy Crashing (2016). He has since starred in contemporary plays such as South Downs for which he was nominated at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards as Outstanding Newcomer in 2012 and West End revivals of The York Realist in 2018 and Cock in 2022, in classical plays like the Royal National Theatre's Othello in 2013 and Chichester Festival Theatre's King Lear in 2017, as well as in musicals namely the London revival of The Last Five Years in 2016 and the West End gender-swapped revival of Company for which he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical in 2019. Known for his comedic, dramatic, and musical roles on stage and screen, he is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award as well as nominations for Evening Standard Theatre and Screen Actor Guild Awards.īailey began his career as a child actor in Royal Shakespeare Company productions when he was seven years old, and by eight was performing as Gavroche in a West End production of Les Misérables. Jonathan Stuart Bailey (born 25 April 1988) is an English actor.