Jonathan Bailey, who plays Anthony Bridgerton, is the son of former Rowse Honey managing director, Stuart Bailey.
Jonathan Bailey has become a household name thanks to his leading role in Bridgerton series two alongside on-screen love interest Simone Ashley, who plays Kate Sharma.
But there’s little we know about Jonathan off-screen, as it turns out the 33-year-old has worked as not only an actor, but a dancer and stage performer for years before taking on the Netflix show.
Jonathan even has a Laurence Olivier Award for his work in Company, which he starred in in 2019 and was awarded Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for starring as Jamie in the stage comedy.
Meet Bridgerton’s new season 2 characters
Away from the stage and the screen, Jonathan comes from a family linked to a business empire – his dad is Stuart Bailey, the former Rowse Honey managing director and chairman.
In 2006 the company was sold for £70 million to a wellness food giant before it was acquired by an Irish food group in 2015.
The backstory only shows Jonathan was destined to play the part of Anthony Bridgerton, given that Rowse’s logo is of a bee – a detail which Bridgerton fans will know plays an important part of series two.
Jonathan and his sisters grew up in Wallingford, where Rowse’s headquarters are, which is located between Oxford and Reading.
At five years old Jonathan was determined to become an actor after falling in love with a stage production of Oliver! He attended a dance club in Henley-on-Thames and went on to land a role in the 1995 Royal Shakespeare Company production of A Christmas Carol at the Barbican Theatre when he was just seven.
His first major TV role was as journalist Oliver Stevens in the first two seasons of Broadchurch and he also starred in an episode of Doctor Who as an augmented human called Psi.
After that, Jonathan returned to the stage before being cast as the now-famous Anthony in Bridgerton in 2019.
