Jonathan Bailey has more than proved his mettle as an actor.
First introduced to the theater by his grandmother when he was five, the newly crowned Sexiest Man Alive, 37, saw a production of Oliver! and knew he wanted to pursue a career in acting. He began performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company by age 7.
“We sort of sometimes really go down a rabbit hole with it because I’m like, ‘So what did I say? She’s like, ‘You just said, ‘That’s what I want to do,'” he tells PEOPLE of his grandma. “It was just an unbelievable stroke of luck, really.”
“My nan is now 95, she’s amazing,” he adds.
Jason Hetherington
For more of Bailey’s exclusive interview and photos, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday
Working steadily as he grew up in rural Oxfordshire with three older sisters, the Wicked: For Good star continued going to school as well. Until he began open university, “where you study from home,” he explains. “I signed up for about nine different courses, not realizing if you didn’t finish them, you get expelled. So I didn’t finish my volcanoes and tsunami course, or my Leonardo da Vinci course. I did finish my music course, but just at that point, I got expelled. Hopefully that’ll be something I can go back to.”
He’s not going to have any downtime anytime soon. In the past five years alone, Bailey has captured hearts as Lord Anthony on Bridgerton and earned an Emmy nomination for his role as a closeted congressional staffer in the Showtime series Fellow Travelers. Not to mention his 2024 big-screen debut as Prince Fiyero in the movie musical megahit Wicked, followed by this summer’s blockbuster Jurassic World: Rebirth.
Jason Hetherington
“I feel so lucky that I never, never thought that I would be partaking in these sorts of stories,” he says. “Because I think it meant that I was just so fastidious and dedicated to each job as it came, because I was so grateful for it and never thought there’d be another one coming.”
Aside from acting, there are a few hobbies on Bailey’s to-do list. For starters, he’d love to be able to play the cello. “I started having lessons, and it was pretty harsh,” he allows. “And languages—I couldn’t grasp languages. You know, I can speak [in French] about my house. That I get a bus to school and that I’ve got a cat. And I do actually [say that] . . . after a glass of red. If I’m in France.”
Jason Hetherington
With his career now soaring, there’s one more role Bailey would consider taking on in life — that of a father. “Yeah. If the planets align, for sure. I feel like in the world that we live in now, everyone’s going to need a bit of guidance,” he says. “Although I’d be terrible at getting them through university. And they would not be able to speak another language. But maybe they will, and that’s how I’ll learn.”
But with Wicked: For Good, hitting theaters Nov. 21, Bailey is focused on the present. “I feel incredibly lucky,” he says. “Life is a ride for everyone no matter who you are, where you come from. It’s just making sure that when you’re in the right, you’re looking left and right and making sure everyone’s all right. And giving them a high-five along the way if they need it.”
