#but man it got me into comics and i love it a lot a lot

[jbaileyfansite]

Vanity Fair Interview for the Hollywood Issue (2024)

In the last 13 months or so, Jonathan Bailey has carried on a secret gay love affair in McCarthy-era Washington, performed cunnilingus in a Regency England manor, rendered teenage boys speechless with a pop-philosophy lecture, and danced through life in a prince’s bedazzled breeches. This coming summer, he’s fleeing dinosaurs.

That would be in, respectively: Fellow Travelers, Bridgerton, Heartstopper, Wicked, and Jurassic World Rebirth. But even if he’s just pretended to do all those things, it’s understandable why Bailey is, right now, pinking his nose at a villa in Puglia.

“It is just so dreamy to be able to chill out,” he says via Zoom. “The cortisol levels have depleted.”

Playing Fiyero in Wicked was a dream come true for Bailey, who at one point in our conversation fantasizes about going to a Broadway rave with his castmates—he refers to Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as simply “the girls”—and dancing to techno remixes of Wicked tracks, like “Defying Gravity,” under pulsating green lasers.

After filming the two-part movie with the girls, he’s nabbed an Emmy nod for Fellow Travelers and started a charity, the Shameless Fund, to uplift the LGBTQ+ community he’s proud to be a part of.

We’re thrilled to have Bailey as part of our 2025 Hollywood Issue. Here, he shares his thoughts on being a change agent in Hollywood, how he chooses roles, and the secret talent that he wishes he’d kept a secret.

Vanity Fair: What a run! How are you feeling?

Jonathan Bailey: I’m very much enjoying my holiday. But the girls started rehearsing Wicked, what, two and a half years ago? I think people assume that I haven’t had any breaks, but I have. Also, we had the strike right in the middle. What was crazy is going from Fellow Travelers to Wicked, just insane.

The Wicked movie is so close to the stage show that if you’re a big fan, you’re not going to be like, “Well, I can’t believe they…” It hews so closely, how could you complain there? But that flip. Are you a secret tumbler?

I remember I’d flown back from Canada and then I was filming Bridgerton. I met the girls then, and they were well and truly underway. I remember going to the dressing rooms, and theirs were pink and green and were just spilling into the hallway. And mine was just an interrogation room with nothing.

But I did spend the whole day with [choreographer] Chris Scott and went from Chris Scott to see [musical writer] Stephen Schwartz, and it was just, for me, boot camp days. You just lean on the amazing choreographers and obviously [director] Jon M. Chu’s vision. So when it came to the beginning of “Dancing Through Life,” I felt like it had to be sort of a flair and sort of performative, but hopefully in a way that was just with abandon and not arrogance. I did gymnastics growing up and I did dancing. I was the only boy within a whatever-mile radius. And because I was a boy and I was dancing, whenever the Royal Shakespeare Company wanted to cast someone, they called. It was dancing that got me into acting. And in dance school—not school, but a hobby club—they had acrobatics, which I was obsessed with. So I had, and still do have, a very bendy back, as shown in Wicked.

I’m a big fan of Heartstopper, the books and then the show; I loved the comic. Was that something that you sought out, or they were like, “Hey, we need someone who’s so handsome that he sends multiple people into a crisis”?

I sort of wedged myself into that part. I was so moved by the series and also the graphic novel.

And, of course, doing Bridgerton—it’s funny what comes with doing a lot of press, and suddenly there’s a lot that people want to know about you, and there’s a lot that’s asked of you that, obviously, in any other industry, you wouldn’t have to talk about. So I was hyperaware of the complexities and nuances of how I felt about myself being a gay man, let alone a gay actor, and suddenly finding success in playing a straight part and talking about that. Heartstopper seems to allow people to feel catharsis and to feel a sort of melancholic sort of nostalgia for what could have been. I was feeling all of those things anyway. And [executive producer] Patrick Walters is really good friends with Josh Cole, who produced Crashing, so it is all a bit of a small world.

I love the cast. I think they’re brilliant. I remember seeing all of them speak to their own experiences and being like, My God, they’re so erudite and grounded and thoughtful and kind and compassionate in their answers. I would be really proud of myself if I could be a part of that as my younger self. Everyone above the age of 40 should be forced to watch it.

Do you think that Hollywood is more open to risk than it used to be? So many of these projects wouldn’t have existed 10 years ago.

Yeah. And with huge budgets and [the] trusting of Universal and Donna Langley and Peter Cramer, obviously they just got the right people, with Marc Platt, and they took their time. That’s the common denominator between these things: Fellow Travelers took 10 years to percolate and run its way in his genius, genial brain, and then four years to commission. Wicked, I think they’ve been trying to make a film of it for over 10 years. With Jurassic as well, this time they’re going back to David Koepp, the original writer of the original film, and Gareth [Edwards] is shooting on film.

I’m going to crack on with the work and I’m just incredibly excited for opportunities. I do think that as long as the work is good, anyone should be able to do the job. And I think that’s what’s changed. I obviously did not imagine myself in this sort of career, so that must be a sign of progress.

Do you get recognized out and about a lot? You’re in all these properties now that have such intense fan bases.

It’s funny—obviously, you do get recognized, but the Bridgerton of it all is really interesting, because it’s one thing to be on a show that is national, but I feel like I was more recognized outside of the UK than in the UK. It takes time to adjust to, it really does. It’s not an easy thing, but it also is amazing.

Do you have any secret talents? You already said that flipping is your party trick.

Yeah, I think that, and I was going to say dexterous toes…

What do you do with them?

…. but I would regret that, so I didn’t say it.

But then you did. What can you do with them that makes you so sure they’re dexterous?

Nothing about this goes well...I just remember entertaining my sisters by being able to pick things up with my toes, but like a monkey. But we probably don’t need to put that in writing.

Physical therapists, I’m sure, hail you.

I did ballet for ages, and I’ve only as an adult found out I’ve got very flat feet. Doing Fiyero, I learned that. And the physio one day walked in because my knees were twanging, and across the room he went, “You got flat feet.”

Your big secret: flat feet.

Yeah, that’s my party trick as well.

Revealed. Do you consider yourself to be a rule follower or a rule breaker? Are you afraid of getting in trouble?

I’m not a rule breaker, I just don’t really adhere. Do you know what I mean? If someone says, don’t do that, I won’t not do it. Probably people would always have said I was probably quite naughty.

You have a philanthropy, the Shameless Fund. Can you tell me about what inspired you to start that?

I’ve always found it is impossible to talk about this without sounding like an asshole, but it’s something that I do think about: opportunities for other people. And I also see where there’s an abundance of energy, whether that be money or creative, that could be siphoned off into other areas.

With the Shameless Fund particularly, there were certain commercial opportunities that were coming my way that I just wasn’t interested in because they just didn’t feel right, or I didn’t want to be stepping into [them]. I’m hoping next year we’re going to start giving out grants, in 2025.

Whom will the grants be going to?

Well, we’ve got three that we are certain on, nonprofits and charities that work internationally and locally in the UK for areas of the LGBT+ community, to educate and elevate. Hopefully, we’ll get to a point where we can offer smaller nonprofits a platform.

The three weeks after Bridgerton came out, there were so many requests from charities that I found it so upsetting and distressing because I wanted to do all of them. “Can you come to this thing, or can you speak, or can you send a shoe, or could you send a bag? Could you sign a script?” So this is also a way where you can work with multiple groups, become a bit of a patron.

Is there anyone who you feel reached back and helped you along in your career too?

Theater directors massively. Ian McKellen was wildly amazing, and I did King Lear with him. He was one of the first people to come to see me when I did Cock on the West End, and we went for a drink afterwards. He was so clear about how it might play out, and should it play out that way, what to be excited about and what to be aware of. I couldn’t wish for a better role model.

Source

[black-and-yellow]

[faerieomenart]

KURT ART GO! Sí, sí, y más. Another art dump. Close ups. VVV

I love fuzzy Kurt but I can't draw it well for my life :(( some Gambit and Rogue to heal the soul btw. They're in love ok ok? Btw beared Kurt in the sketch dump is my phone lockscreen, just calling myself out. And my background is the doodle of myself fawning over him aksjdkj. No shame.

Also have no idea how to draw Kurt consistently rip. Sorry to anyone who tries and cares to read all the random notes, idk why I do that, but they're not important ajskjsk.

Lost the dates drawn, but idc bc they are recent.

[welcometogrouchland]

I miss them so bad (Dick and Damian)

[lifeonmvrs]

study of chris bachalo’s art style (plus some other artists who popped in also)

[Image Description: digital sketches of deadpool, spider-man, and a random girl. top left corner has two colored sketches of spider-man, one from the front and the other a side profile. both show his head and half of his arm only. he looks angry and confused in the first one, and angry and thoughtful in the second one. top right corner is a colored sketch of deadpool with his mask halfway up. by his side, there’s a little blonde girl with a purple beanie. bottom left corner has two colored sketches of deadpool, both a headshot. first one is an angry looking deadpool from a 3/4 view. second one shows him lurking and peeking into something from a side profile. bottom right corner is a colored sketch of deadpool looking sideways in confusion. he’s drawn from his face to half of his torso, but the arms have not been drawn. in the middle of the canvas, there is a little spider-man mask and a very open eye with a light blue pupil. the background is a solid white. the next picture is a collage of all the references used taken from the comics. /end ID]

[crescentmoonrider]

The Boy Who Leapt Through Time AU

(read from right to left)

Well, it's been a minute, hasn't it ? And by a minute I mean uhhhh A Long Time I've said many times I'm going to see this project to the end, and I meant it, even if life sometimes gets in the way. It will just take the time it will need As for today's part, we're finally seeing some Shi-woo again ! Hurray ! Finally a real adult in this house ! The logistics of existing legally in a world where another version of you is currently 6 years old... 's not easy, even when you have a pro helping you out Especially when your name is uh. Pretty unique ? Yeah, we'll go with unique. Anyway yeah Yuuta needed a new spelling for his first name, stat, and I decided to make up some lore surrounding that too (Seriously, I know the reason he's named depressed guy is because mangakas love their meaningful names, but like. In-universe ? His parents better have a Good Fucking Reasoning) The new last name I chose for him, 山本 (Yamamoto) literally translates to "the base of the mountain" and is a pretty common last name in Japan. I picked it as a double reference to Yuuta being from Aomori in my personal canon, and Rika's last name of Orimoto (祈本) - obviously calling himself Orimoto would be too on the nose, and I think the least ties he has to his old identity, the easier it will be to fake documents in the future Oh yeah, also my boy canonically looks like shit in photos lmao

(This image came from promotional movie material iirc, but even the glimpse we see of his student ID in the vol. 0 manga is just. Pitiful. Pathetic boy. I love him so much)

<< first - < previous - part 17 - next >

[Masterpost]

[writer-room]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen any type of media so clearly portray how my writing changed before and after I realized I was queer like Nimona. ND Stevenson’s work is just so familiar it pains me in an absolutely incredible way.

Plenty of people point out the differences made between the comic and the movie (and loving both regardless, of course). Most of them mention how the movie has a happier ending, its portrayal of its messages has shifted slightly, and its way more obviously a queer (especially trans) metaphor. I don’t know if any other writers had this happen, but if I had to describe how my writing changed from tiny little twelve-year-old me to the current day, I’d just point in the direction of how Nimona changed from the comics to the movie. It’s alarmingly similar.

Its all just...dripping with coming to terms with ones queerness. Not just from the plot, but from its very existence as a film. Its an evolution of growing up queer. The end goal, the base message, remains the same, even if the methods getting there are different. Because what someone made when they were twelve and had no idea what they were going to turn into and what they made as an adult with so much that changed, and so much left to change, are going to have so many different methods.

How Nimona was born the way she is, how the story changes from a corrupted core with no happy ending to being about ending that corruption and coming out okay, how Ballister’s grudges and issues with Ambrosius changed, all of it is just so indicative of changes made throughout ones life where these tiny little details are tweaked into something new, but still fundamentally the same story at its heart.

Even if this is just a me thing, I didn’t realize how excited I could be at seeing so much familiarity in a film. Good lord, I need to watch this movie again.

[byfulcrums]

I'm currently writing a fanfic about Wally's shitty ass life

[sforzesco]

I want to say that I really love how Cassius in your art actually has agency and Does Things, rather than being relegated to Brutus' footnote!

HELL YEAH! Cassius Does Stuff is my favorite kind of thing to focus on because Brutus gets such a spotlight and honestly, I Do Not Think He Deserves It That Much

[meringuejellyfish]

adaptations that are a deliberate alternate telling of a story arent all that crazy to me (and also sometimes its as simple as someone like o'malley saying "the books already exist") ive been quite fascinated by this concept for a long time but alas i do not have many examples of this off the top of my head. but i do love picking apart adaptations and differences as a general thing. hoho !

[moe-broey]

Mmy thumb hurds sooo baad..............................

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

you are so whimsical i qant to check out this mdzs (..??) because of your whimsical nature thank you sorry im very high and your art moved me emotionally

This is simultaneously the sweetest and funniest thing someone has sent me, thank you.

[hellogoodbyeitsme]

DCU fandom is so funny because everyone is always mad. Feels like living with my parents again 🥰 home sweet home 🥰

[necrotic-nephilim]

do you use any site/spreadsheet/etc. to track your comic reading? i use locg right now but have been considering other options.

... yes. technically. but bc i'm an autistic bitch i just. have a google spreadsheet i'm gonna be honest. i log it all manually.

this is an example of what a random section looks like of my 2023 spreadsheet. in order it's: title, issue/volume number, page count, date i finished the comic, and my personal rating. blue and red is obviously DC and Marvel. pink means the numbering is counting single issues, yellow means it's counting volumes/trades. sometimes for the page count i guesstimate based on how long comics tend to be if i can't find an exact page count. the colors in the rating are just for fun so i can easily see what stuck out as 10/10 and what stuck out as 1/10.

then i take all of *that* data and condense it into monthly stats. all by hand bc idk how to like. properly use google sheets that well.

obviously i'm aware all of this is likely the most tedious way to do it and i'm probably making it harder for myself. however. i am just Like That. i do use the Comics Geeks app as well, which i think is a solid app? i just haven't fully logged everything i've read because i find that to be wildly tedious. but the stat breakdowns it gives about most read characters and writers and whatnot is nifty. though you can tell the app is more geared toward tracking comic collections rather than comics read.

so uh. i'm not the best person to ask about this probably lkjhghgjhkjjkjh i will always brute force my own way than just doing it the. smart way. but! i do keep track of it all and i find it very useful to do so, because i like seeing the trends of what i was reading when. also i enjoy the data of how i rated a comic when i read it vs how i feel about it now that it's sat with me. idk if this helps but!! i do like rambling about my spreadsheet!

[bonebrokebuddy]

2 panels done, about 78 more to go ;-; only the speech bubbles & lettering left!

This is a WIP of a dp x dc silver age based on a prompt from my twin @stealingyourbones !

I’ve been storyboarding this comic for months but have procrastinated actually digitalizing it until now as I’m Very new to digital art and much more used to traditional art but it’s slowly getting easier!

I’m just on the intro section currently! I’m trying to keep it as cartoon accurate in both art and script as I possibly can as I want it to feel like something that could be pulled straight from the original show.

Here’s the complete storyboard for the first page:

The intro is meant to be based off a classic early season dp plot of “Skulker has a device to trap Danny but Danny outsmarts Skulker and uses that device against him.” But you’ll have to wait to see the rest >:)

Here’s a sneak peak of a rough draft of a page during the Skulker fight that I had to scrap the paneling from because I couldn’t get the flow of it to work:

I’m still debating whether I update it on a page by page basis or release it all at once so I’ll keep y’all posted for updates!

I still need a name for the comic so feel free to give me suggestions!

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

Honestly fascinated learning more of the fanon vs canon going on here. Truly tempted to read Tim's comics just to see the extent of what's been done to him