Jonathan Bailey: ‘Fellow Travelers is the gayest show I could find’
The star talks Fellow Travelers and his “crucial” new partnership with LGBTQIA+ charity Just Like Us. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASAFE GHALIB WORDS BY SAM DAMSHENAS CREATIVE DIRECTION AND FASHION BY UMAR SARWAR ART DIRECTION BY JACK ROWE CREATIVE PRODUCER ANISA CLEAVER HAIR BY SVEN BAYERBACH AT CAROL HAYES MANAGEMENT USING SAM MCKNIGHT MAKEUP BY KAREEM JARCHÉ RETOUCHER DARIA BOLOGOVA FASHION ASSISTANTS LILY HOBMAN AND BRADLEY TURNER From his work in regency-era dramedy Bridgerton to groundbreaking period piece Fellow Travelers, as well as an upcoming role in the movie adaptation of classic musical Wicked, Jonathan Bailey is blazing a trail as one of the world’s most prominent out gay actors – and activists.
This year’s GAY TIMES Honours sees the star succeed 2022’s recipient of the Changemaker Award, Tom Daley, as a result of his new partnership with the official LGBTQIA+ young people’s charity Just Like Us, a collaboration he describes as “critical and crucial”: “LGBTQIA+ issues don’t speak for themselves, and you need people to step forward.
It’s important for me to be able to do that.” Three days after his infectious, frenetic energy made its mark on the GAY TIMES set, a freshly bronzed Bailey is preparing for yet another shoot in Marrakech, Morocco.
Speaking from Zoom, he laughs (slash glows): “I’ve been sent out early just to get a tan.” After reminiscing on his “spiritual” on-set discourse about zodiac signs with our fashion and creative director, the aforementioned frenetic energy is back on display as he immediately dives into his Just Like Us partnership. “I’ve worked with Albert Kennedy Trust before, and there’s so many different charities that I look forward to working with,” he says. “Just Like Us really hit something that I felt was important.
