To many Brits and for many years, Jonathan Bailey was the talented up-and-comer known for roles in the likes of Crashing and Broadchurch. Then came the role of Lord Anthony in the huge Regency hit Bridgerton, and the rest, as they say, is history. Fast-forward to 2024, and Bailey is delivering one of his best performances to date as the dashing Fiyero in Jon M. Chu’s smash-hit adaptation of Wicked, alongside Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in a duet of Oscar-nominated turns.
Ahead of Bailey returning to Fiyero in the upcoming Wicked: For Good, the Oxfordshire-born actor is now starring in another huge franchise, as Dr. Henry Loomis in Jurassic World Rebirth, the latest installment in the dino-franchise helmed by Rogue One‘s Gareth Edwards. Starring in the movie alongside huge Hollywood talent such as Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and more, Bailey’s inclusion in the Jurassic World Rebirth cast is a promising reminder that the most talented will always rise to the top. But how did he get there? Well, thanks to an interview available to view on X, Bailey has spilled all on his surprising journey to taking the role.
“It was completely out of the blue,” Bailey begins. “Universal Studios made Wicked, and so Donna Langley and Peter Cramer, who run the studios, they spoke to Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall, the producer, and they decided to offer me the part.” So strong was Bailey’s performance in Wicked that Langley and Cramer spoke directly to one of the finest minds in all cinema and made a personal recommendation, without Bailey even needing an audition. “I hadn’t auditioned and I hadn’t read the script,” he continues, adding, “it was a real surprise. As an actor, that’s the one invitation you can only fantasize about. Yeah, it was really, really special, and I remember waking up the next day and going, ‘Is that all a dream?’”
Jurassic World Rebirth Gets Off to a Flying Box Office Start
Despite receiving disappointing critical reviews and scores on the likes of Rotten Tomatoes, that can’t take away from just how big an appeal Jurassic World Rebirth is to have. Bound to shoot to the top of the upcoming weekend’s box office charts, Rebirth has already got off to a flying start, earning an enormous $30.5 million on July 2 from just over 4,000 theaters nationwide. This already makes the movie one of the 25 highest-grossing of the year domestically after just 24 hours, with competition from the likes of Universal’s How to Train Your Dragon remake and Joseph Kosinski‘s F1 not likely to pose too much of a problem.
Jurassic World Rebirth is in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on the latest movies.