Actor Jonathan Bailey comes full circle with “Wicked” movie | Hollywood

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON, – “Bridgerton” star Jonathan Bailey says playing Fiyero, a dapper Winkie country prince, in the musical film “Wicked” allowed him to return to his roots.

The British actor, who achieved global fame with the hit Netflix Regency-era series, took ballet lessons as a youth and began his career as a child actor in theater productions.

“reminded me of two things in the purest version of who I am. I loved to dance and I loved to sing. And to be able to go back to that, it all kind of feels full circle,” he said in a interview.

“Wicked” is based on Stephen Schwartz’s musical of the same name, itself an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 book. It tells the story of a green-skinned young woman, Elphaba, who goes on to become the Wicked Witch of the West from the classic children’s novel “The Wizard of Oz”.

Pop star Ariana Grande plays the privileged and popular Glinda, who meets Elphaba at Shiz University, where they also befriend Bailey’s Fiyero.

Bailey was filming “Fellow Travellers” in Toronto and “Bridgerton” in London when rehearsals for “Wicked” began and had to get creative to prepare for the film’s extensive song-and-dance sequences. That meant practicing his steps on a long-haul flight and doing high leg kicks while eating his meals, the actor, 36, said.

Bailey said his “Bridgerton” experience helped him approach the highly anticipated production.

“I feel like I’ve had good training for it,” he said.

“I think ‘Bridgerton’ was an adaptation that was so successful, brilliant and brilliant, and a lot of people loved the books, but I feel like the imagery in ‘Wicked’ is so iconic, so it’s a little bit different,” Bailey said, adding : “It’s exciting. to share another fandom.”

The first chapter of the two-part “Wicked” film series is out in UK and US cinemas on Friday.

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