May 13
'I Wish I Had That Growing Up' - Jonathan Bailey Reveals He Requested 'Heartstopper' Role
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Out actor Jonathan Bailey of "Fellow Travelers" and "Bridgerton" fame talked about why he went after a role on "Heartstopper," calling the show "one of the biggest, most beautiful gifts to so many people..."
"It was announced in late April that Bailey will make a cameo appearance as Jack Maddox, an Instagram-famous classicist and celebrity crush of Charlie (Joe Locke)," Variety detailed.
Even before that, sharp-eyed fans had worked out that the "Bridgerton" star would be on the show.
Bailey detailed how he found his way onto the beloved series – and it started with making it known that he was interested.
"I had a mutual friend who knows [executive producer Patrick Walters]," Variety quoted Bailey saying, "and I just said, 'If there's anything I could do to help and be a part of that story...'"
Indeed, there was.
Bailey explained his determination to be part of the show, telling Variety, "Like so many people, I watched the first [season] and thought it was one of the biggest, most beautiful gifts to so many people, and I wish I had that growing up."
The out star went on to add that the Netflix global smash hit "really has changed the way people could grow and communicate around who they are."
And he wasn't just talking about queer people.
"It's for every person who is a member of a family who has a member of the LGBT+ community," Bailey said. "It helps all of us."
Variety noted that Bailey spoke with them from the Met Gala last week, the day after he caught "Heartstopper" leading man Joe Locke on Broadway in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Berber of Fleet Street."
Locke plays Charlie in the streaming series, which is based on the popular series of graphic novels by Alice Oseman, who also writes the TV version. Charlie is an openly gay high school student who has endured bullying, but has found love with a bisexual classmate, the popular athlete Nick (Kit Connor).
Locke's run on Broadway has just ended, but Connor is about to begin a show on the Great White Way of his own, starring in a new production of "Romeo + Juliet."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
