Wicked fans have been left seriously stunned after spotting a major Bridgerton easter egg that Jonathan Bailey included in the movie.
While we all know the 36-year-old actor as the man behind Bridgerton‘s beloved Lord Anthony Bridgerton, it’s clear that fans were buzzing to see him step into the role of Prince Fiyero – a Shiz University classmate who romances both Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande).
A major aspect about Fiyero is that he’s a horse rider, which is where the hidden connection between the Netflix series and the box-office smash lies.
During a BBC interview, Bailey was asked if he had to learn to ride a horse for the highly-anticipated film adaptation, prompting him to explain he’s already ‘worked with’ one of the ‘cast’ members from Wicked in another, far less PG project.
“The horse that is in the movie, I’ve also worked with before,” he explained. “I played another character in something called Bridgerton and, so when I was asked to play Fiyero, the first thing I said to the director was ‘I know exactly which horse we need to hire.'”
Jonathan Bailey plays Shiz University classmate, Prince Fiyero, in Wicked
The horse in question, Bailey explained, is named ‘Jack’.
“Jack and I go way back,” he continued before adding: “It was a pleasure to be able to work with him again.”
Wicked’s official TikTok account confirmed the news after posting a behind-the-scenes video of Bailey and Jack.
“I went around to see [the movie’s director] Jon Chu before we started filming, and I said to him, I said, ‘I think I know who the horse is,'” Bailey says in the video.
“And he’s like, ‘What do you mean?’ It’s Jack,” he continued, adding that he had ‘an amazing relationship’ with the horse while filming Bridgerton.
The star beamed; “People say, ‘Don’t work with kids and animals.’ But if it’s Jack, I’d say take the job’.
“He’s a legend.”
Bailey and Jack go way back… to the 19th century
After finding out about the adorable easter egg, fans rushed to social media to share their reactions with one TikTok user writing: “Jonathan Bailey is a national treasure!”
“I didn’t realise horses also go thru a hiring process lol. This is very cute,” gushed a second.
A third echoed: “He said ‘Jack and I go way back’. The cutest thing ever.”
“That’s actually so cute!! That horse and Johnathon Bailey are besties!” exclaimed a fourth.
Another penned: “I can’t describe how to why this makes my heart so happy to learn!”
And a final TikTok user added: “Okay I think I love him even more after this interview!”
