No Shocker Here: The Talented Jonathan Bailey of 'Bridgerton' Fame Is Also a Great Singer

Years before Bridgerton swept us all away in a sea of romantic fantasy, Jonathan Bailey was in London playing the not-so-chivalrous lead in the Jason Robert Brown musical The Last Five Years.

That's right — not only was Jonathan fantastic as Anthony Bridgerton in Season 2 of of the Netflix hit, but he can sing too. Is there anything this man can't do?

We were interested to learn more about Jonathan's singing accomplishments. What does he sound like? Has he been in any other musicals? Could a Bridgerton musical be in Jonathan's future? We've got the details for you here.

In Jonathan's pre-Bridgerton era, he played Jamie Wellerstein opposite Les Misérables star Samantha Barks as Cathy Hiatt in the London off–West End production of The Last Five Years, per What's On Stage. There's even a tape of Jonathan's audition for The Last Five Years, in which he sings flawlessly in an American accent.

And did you know that he was nominated for an Olivier award (the British equivalent of the Tonys) for his performance in a 2018 West End production of Stephen Sondheim's Company?

Not only that, dear readers, but Jonathan won that Olivier award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical. One of his Company co-stars was the legendary Patti LuPone, who happily told Jonathan in a joint 2021 interview with The Guardian that he was "the biggest star in the world!"

Jonathan responded with, "Not bigger than Patti LuPone!" The Bridgerton star also explained in the same interview how the magic of theater inspired him to become an actor-singer.

He said, "I remember seeing Oliver! when I was 6 and having vertigo in the theater – I experience that even when I go to theaters now. There was no sense of professional artistry in our family, but I said to my parents: I’m going to do that! Within a year, just by chance, I got scouted. I ended up playing Tiny Tim with the Royal Shakespeare Company in A Christmas Carol at the Barbican in 1995."

Jonathan also lent his voice to the 2018 cast recording of Company. Prior to his Olivier-winning role, Jonathan also starred in the 2013 American Psycho musical at London's Almeida Theatre alongside Doctor Who star Matt Smith, per Digital Spy.

Frankly, we're surprised that Shondaland hasn't capitalized on an official Bridgerton musical yet. (The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical actually just won the 2022 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album, per The New York Times!)

According to Netflix, multiple members of the Bridgerton cast can sing, including Claudia Jessie, who plays Eloise Bridgerton; Luke Newton, who plays Colin Bridgerton; and Regé-Jean Page, who played Simon Bassett in Season 1 (we know he isn't coming back to Bridgerton but he can sing!).

Jonathan is currently starring in another play on the West End titled Cock, which explores the trials and tribulations of a gay couple. If you happen to be in London, Cock runs until June and you can buy tickets via the London Theatre.

If you can't make it over there, you can still catch Jonathan as the debonair Anthony Bridgerton in Bridgerton, where Seasons 1 and 2 are current streaming on Netflix.