Jonathan Bailey
(Picture: Piczo and ES Magazine)Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey believes the wildly popular Netflix show has “changed the bar” for representation in television.
The star, who plays Viscount Anthony Bridgerton in the his period drama, said he has received “amazing” messages from viewers who have connected with the drama’s diverse characters.
Bridgerton has become the most-watched original Netflix series in its history since its release on Christmas Day, being viewed on 82 million accounts in a single month after it dropped.
The show, produced by Shonda Rhimes and adapted from Julia Quinn’s novels, is set in Regency-era London and sees black and biracial actors portraying some of the most prominent roles, including the Duke of Hastings, played by Regé-Jean Page.
Speaking to ES Magazine about the show, the 32-year-old actor said the series had helped people open up about their own experiences.
“Bridgerton is actually delivering on changing the bar, and the standard, of representation,” he said.
“Because of that, I’ve had amazing messages from people who have been able to talk about their sexuality, or people who have seen themselves or their children in the Duke of Hastings [storyline].”
Bailey, who starred in dramas Broadchurch and Chewing Gum before Bridgerton, said people’s reception to the show had helped him process his stratospheric rise to fame following its release.
He said the show’s phenomenal reception has been a “brilliantly traumatic thing to experience”, but added: “For me that’s the thing [people connecting to the show] that’s always going to ground [the experience]. It’s a candyfloss juggernaut theme park ride — like multiple sensory overload.”
Bailey said he was not naturally accustomed to fame. “You work and strive to be an actor and you can get better at it and enjoy it. But you can’t be good at fame or enjoy it. Some people do, some people don’t. It’s a different cocktail for everyone.”
Bailey, who won awards for playing Jamie in West End show Company in 2018, spoke about the debate surrounding whether straight actors should play gay characters and vice versa.
The actor, who is gay and plays the straight Viscount in the series, said that ideally “everyone should be able to play absolutely everything.”
“There have been amazing performances by straight people playing gay and by gay people playing straight,” he added.
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