“Bottom’s up”: Let me introduce Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey

As he makes his Netflix debut in Bridgerton as moody older brother Anthony Bridgerton, who is Jonathan Bailey?

“It’s a perfect little bottom. We’ve all seen it. And it’s a peach-like thing of beauty”.

It’s 10am on a Tuesday morning. The morning following Boris Johnson’s third national lockdown announcement.

Giggling Lorraine Kelly is describing Netflix newcomer (32-year-old) Jonathan Bailey’s bum cheeks on national telly.

If you’ve not already obsessed with Jonathan Bailey -you’re about to be.

Bridgerton is Netflix’s answer to remaking Pride and Prejudice. Breathing life back into the Regency-era, using Taylor Swift for ballroom scenes instead of Mozart, and colour-blind casting instead of a typical white-washed cast you see for period dramas.

Bailey plays moody older brother Anthony Bridgerton. He is the usual brooding anti-hero who knows his way around a horse and is especially good at wearing a pair of breeches.

Like with his interview with Lorraine, not even four-minutes into the first episode of Bridgerton and you’ve already seen his bum. A scene that was actually his first day of shooting the period drama. Even his 90-year-old Nana had to be warned that she'd see his bottom before you could see his face.

Bailey has an engaging energy; you can’t help but love him. As a boy he wanted to be a teacher. Instead, he went to the West End, won an Olivier Award and even starred as Cyril in BBC's version of Five Children and It.

Jonathan is gay and he plays a straight character in Bridgerton. While he is better known for portraying straight characters in mainstream media - the nephew of Olivia Colman in Broadchurch and Jack Patterson in an episode of Doctor Who and now the promiscuous Anthony Bridgerton in Bridgerton - Bailey has previously portrayed gay characters.

He won his first Olivier Award in 2019 for his West End portrayal of Jamie, a reluctant husband-to-be, in Company.

He used his acceptance speech to amplify LGBTQ+ voice where, he proudly declared: “LGBTQ people really aren’t that different, we’re not that different. We are just as anxious, we’re just as flawed and desperate to fall in love as everyone else.”

Numerous straight actors have won awards and acknowledged for taking on queer roles. But since 2000, 25 actors have been Oscar-nominated for playing LGBTQ+ roles and not one was openly queer.

Bailey recently spoke about gay actors playing straight characters and said: “I think it shouldn't matter at all what character people play, but of course there is a narrative that's very clear, that openly gay men aren't playing straight in leading roles (...) A lot of straight men have gone on to play iconic gay roles and to be lauded for that is fantastic (...) But wouldn't it be brilliant to see gay men play their own experience?"

Bailey is from Wallingford, Oxford, where he attended Magdalen College School, an all-boys school with renowned alumni such as Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, Dunkirk (2019).

He spent his summer holidays in his local honey factory working on the lemon curd line. "It was groundbreaking," he told Bazaar UK, “it made me realise, hey I don’t ever want to see or have lemon curd ever again. But also perhaps acting, even though it’s you know kind of unstable. It’s just you don’t get a lemon curd facial that early in the morning”.

One of his breakthrough theatre roles was his appearance in David Hare's South Downs, where he was nominated for Outstanding Newcomer at the 2012 Evening Standard Theatre Awards, later also appearing on stage with actors as luminous as Sir Iain Mckellan and Matt Smith.

Aside from work, Bailey has three older sisters. But he’s quite private about that side of his life, posting only Bridgerton snapshots, sweaty marathon pics and his adorable dog.

“Should your brother wish to be obeyed as Lord Bridgerton, he must act as Lord Bridgerton”

Bridgerton has opened up conversations about male mental health, going against the norms of period dramas.

While playing Viscount Bridgerton, Bailey becomes an increasingly overbearing brother, “cockblocking” and scaring all of his sister’s (Phoebe Dynevor) potential suitors away; you can see clearly that the responsibility of protecting his younger siblings has taken its toll on Anthony.

He told Decider, “He doesn’t have any space to make any mistakes. He’s making them under such high pressure. His self esteem just really suffers.”

Bailey showcases Anthony as a loveable anti-hero, not a typical misogynistic older brother baddie, but an emotional boy struggling in the shadow of his father’s premature death.

According to the Office of National Statistics male suicides make up 75% of all reported suicides each year, a percentage which has not changed since the 1990s.

“Anthony suffered a massive trauma with the loss of his dad and taking over the family is a responsibility that he’s in no way equipped for.”

In Bridgerton about 7,500 costume pieces were used, across a vibrant palette of colours. For the women, ball gowns with delicate embroidery, sheer puff-sleeves and lace corsets which instantly became a fashion trend for 2021.

For the men, waistcoats, high boots and white trousers. And for Bailey’s character Anthony, his famous sideburns, “They are real, baby. I fertilize them every day like a bonsai tree” and a dance belt.

“The only thing that was kind of uncomfortable is that I had to wear a dance belt because I was wearing white trousers which I think can be quite unforgiving", he said.

“The dance belt was kind of like a thong and that took a while to get used to and if you’re wearing a thong while riding a horse…”

Although he’s probably used to dressing up in flamboyant period-drama costumes. In Five Children and It, he was surrounded by pinafores and sailor suits, with “It” the strange sand-creature on the sandy beaches of the Isle of Wight.

In Leonardo, he was free-running around the dusty streets of Florence pretending to be Leonardo Da Vinci wearing converse and skinny mustard trousers in CBBC’s 2012 attempt at reinventing a cheeky teenage Da Vinci.

Bridgerton carries a decidedly modern tone throughout the show, from the orchestral versions of Taylor Swift, to the numerous explicit sex scenes; quite shocking when you’re watching them over dinner with your parents.

According to streaming-giant Netflix, the series is projected to reach 63 million households within 28 days of its Christmas Day debut. That would make it the fifth largest Netflix original series launch of all time.

With nearly universal admiration and Bridgerton fans clamouring for a Season Two, according to the books, Jonathan Bailey should be starring in the second season with a love-story of his own leading as London’s most elusive bachelor.

You can watch all 8 episodes of Bridgerton on Netflix.