birthday daddy

Birthday boy Jonathan Bailey confirms ‘Heartstopper’ cameo—but don’t miss his other great queer TV role

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Image Credit: ‘Heartstopper,’ Netflix

Today, April 25, marks everyone’s crush Jonathan Bailey’s 36th birthday. Happy birthday, Jonathan! We stan our Taurus king!

And on this most special day—which we’re now deeming International Jonathan Bailey Day—the charming star of stage and screen has given us a gift: Official confirmation that he’ll be making a cameo in season three of Netflix’s beloved gay romance series, Heartstopper.

Now, sure, word got out about this “surprise” a little while back, but today’s announcement reveals he’ll be playing the role of Jack Maddox, an “Instagram-famous” classicist and Charlie’s (Joe Locke) celebrity crush. Oop, we wonder if Nick (Kit Connor) might get a little jealous!

Bailey, Locke, and Connor all sharing the screen? It’s a sisterhood of the traveling blue Loewe top reunion!

Netflix has shared a teaser video of him in character, which—like everything else Bailey does—is absolutely adorable:

Hi indeed! (Good lord, this man rocks the hell out of a grey tweed suit and thick-rimmed glasses.)

In addition to Bailey, Heartstopper will be adding even more star power to season three in the form of Hayley Atwell (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One) as Nick’s Aunt Diane and Eddie Marsan (Happy-Go-Lucky) as Geoff, Charlie’s therapist.

“I am incredibly excited to be welcoming three new cast members to the Heartstopper family,” creator Alice Oseman said in a press statement. “It was an absolute joy to see Hayley, Eddie, and Jonathan’s talent alongside our existing cast, and I can’t wait for the Heartstopper fans to meet these new characters.”

And we’re excited to meet them! But especially Bailey’s Jack Maddox, which really does sound like perfect casting:

Season three—which will delve into Nick and Charlie’s deepening relationship in their post-“I love you” world—is set to premiere on Netflix this October.

And it’ll arrive amid what’s proven to be Bailey’s biggest year yet. Of course, we’re all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Wicked: Part One this holiday season, where he’ll play the debonair Fiyero. Meanwhile, he’s still riding the wave of acclaim for his work in last fall’s Fellow Travelers, which some are predicting could warrant his first Emmy nod when nominations are announced this July.

He’s also reportedly in discussions to star in a new Jurassic World movie opposite Scarlett Johansson, Colman Domingo, and Dev Patel, which has to be one of the hottest cast’s ever committed to film? We are seated!

Related:

Hold on to your butts: Jonathan Bailey & Colman Domingo could bring gay star power to this blockbuster sequel

If this is what it feels like to be queerbaited, we… actually don’t mind at all!

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves—sorry, we just get excited when talking about the birthday boy! Next, he’ll be popping by Bridgerton‘s third season, dropping on Netflix on May 16.

Of course, if you can’t stand to wait a few more weeks and want some Jonathan Bailey goodness to stream right now to celebrate his birthday, have we got a recommendation for you:

A few years before his international breakout success, Bailey had a juicy, must-see leading role in the British comedy series Crashing, which—coincidentally—is also streaming on Netflix right now, and it’s well worth a watch.

Created by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge (prior to her acclaimed, Emmy-winning Fleabag), Crashing tells the story of a group of twenty-somethings living as “property guardians” for a large, unused hospital, where they pay extremely cheap rent so long as they keep the building safe and maintained.

Bailey’s character, Sam, is a bleached-hair-rocking, sex-obsessed estate agent who lives amongst the group. With an over-active libido, he’s constantly trying to get into bed with everyone, but *minor spoilers* he gradually comes to realize he might be queer and have feelings for him friend Fred (Amit Shah).

Crashing only ran for one season (just six episodes!) on the British network Channel 4 in 2016, but it remains a great showcase for Waller-Bridge’s witty and emotionally vulnerable writing, as well as Bailey’s infinite charms. Even when Sam is behaving badly, it’s hard not to fall for the dashing actor.

And fall for him we have! Since it’s his birthday, we’ll leave you with a few of our favorite moments of Gay Twitter™ showing their *ahem* appreciation for Jonathan Bailey:

Crashing is now streaming on Netflix. Bridgerton Season 3, Part 1 arrives on May 16, and HeartstopperSeason 3 will premiere this October.

Related:

Jonathan Bailey recalls a horrible homophobic encounter he had in a coffee shop recently

He’s also confirmed that he has got a “lovely man” in his life.

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