The actor, who portrays Lord Anthony Bridgerton on the hit Netflix series, confesses in a new interview that he used to think he needed to be straight to be happy.
- Mar 10, 2022
AceShowbiz - Jonathan Bailey opened up about how his love life affects his acting career. In a new interview, the "Bridgerton" star admitted that he used to feel pressured to hide his sexuality for the sake of his success.
The 33-year-old heartthrob made the confession when speaking to GQ. He recalled one of his actor friends was once told during pilot season, "There's two things we don't want to know: if you're an alcoholic or if you're gay."
"All it takes is for one of those people in that position of power to say that, and it ripples through," he went on explaining. "So, yeah, of course I thought that. Of course I thought that in order to be happy I needed to be straight."
However, Jonathan eventually realized that he doesn't need to hide his true self. "I reached a point where I thought, 'F**k this,' " he recounted. "I'd much prefer to hold my boyfriend's hand in public or be able to put my own face picture on Tinder and not be so concerned about that than getting a part."
Elsewhere in the interview, the Lord Anthony Bridgerton depicter on the hit Netflix series divulged that playing the role has forced him to "think about love a lot." He shared, "You put your life experiences into [the work]... What's most interesting is not necessarily having to talk about what that is, and keeping a sense of privacy."
"Bridgerton" season two will mainly focus on his character. It will narrate his complicated love triangle with Kate and Edwina Sharma, played by Simone Ashley and Charithra Chandran respectively.
Speaking about the upcoming season, Jonathan told Entertainment Tonight last January, "It's just going to get more exciting and convoluted and sexier, I think." He continued, "(It will) be pushing boundaries every single way. (I know) that the story is going to be really exciting."
