Testament of Youth (2014) — Testament of Youth is a British drama film based on a memoir set in World War I of the same name, written by Vera Brittain. Alicia Vikander stars as war nurse Vera Brittain. Kit Harrington stars as British poet and soldier Roland Leighton. Bailey plays a smaller but significant role as Geoffrey Thurlow.
The Young Messiah (2016) — Based on the biblical drama novel Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice, this film is the fictional account of a seven-year-old Jesus returning from Egypt to Nazareth. Jonathan Bailey plays Herod.
Jack Ryan (2018) — Jack Ryan is a political action thriller series based on the novels by Tom Clancy, but with a modern-day interpretation. John Krasinski stars throughout all four seasons as Jack Ryan. But in the first season, we also got Jonathan Bailey as Lance Miller, an American CIA operative.
Bridgerton (2020 – now) — Bailey’s breakout role was as Anthony Bridgerton in Netflix’s Bridgerton series, based on the novels by Julia Quinn. Anthony Bridgerton is the eldest of the Bridgerton children and the current Viscount Bridgerton. The second season of the series featured Anthony’s romance with Kate Sharma, but Bailey has played a prominent role in every season of the series. He will be returning for season 4, which releases in January 2026.
Heartstopper (2024) — Heartstopper is a queer YA comic series by Alice Oseman turned Netflix series that Bailey also had a small role in. If you’re looking to spot Jonathan Bailey, just check out season 3. Bailey has a guest role as Jack Maddox, an Instagram-famous author that main character Charlie (Joe Locke) has a crush on. Join the club, Charlie.
Wicked (2024) — Bailey’s fanbase only grew after starring as Fiyero alongside Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in 2024’s Wicked. The film is based on the musical Wicked, which is based on the novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire. In an interview with Ariana Grande for V Man, Bailey said that he is a longtime fan of the musical. “The preparation [for this film] started when I listened to the soundtrack when I was like 15,” Bailey told Grande. “And I remember viscerally; it sent ripples through culture…Something about it just completely grabbed me.” Wicked is now available to stream, and the sequel film is out this month.
Jurassic World: Rebirth (2024) — While Jurassic World: Rebirth is not based on a specific novel, the film franchise is based on the Jurassic Park novels by Michael Crichton. This film is set five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion. Jonathan Bailey stars as paleontologist Henry Loomis alongside Scarlett Johansson, who plays Zora Bennett, and Mahershala Ali, who plays Duncan Kincaid.
Wicked: For Good (2025) — Bailey reprises his role a Fiyero in Wicked: For Good, a film that adapts the second act of the stage musical Wicked. Fans of the book and musical will already know a bit of what to expect from Fiyero in this second film, but there will likely be a few surprises as well. Wicked: For Good hits theaters everywhere on November 21.
A quick note: unfortunately, a fair majority of film adaptations are still based on books by white authors. We’re hoping we’ll see Bailey in more adaptations in the future, and hopefully some of them will be from authors of color.
Join All Access to read this article
Get access to exclusive content and features with an All Access subscription on Book Riot.
- Unlimited access to exclusive bonus content
- Community features like commenting and poll participation
- Our gratitude for supporting the work of an independent media company
English (US) · 