Jonathan Bailey clarifies ‘unfortunate’ reports about stepping back from acting

Jonathan Bailey has cleared up speculation that he is quitting acting.

Earlier this year, the Wicked star revealed that he was “going to stop acting for a bit next year” in order to focus on the Shameless Fund, the charity he founded in 2024 to “help members of the queer community across the world live freely and authentically”.

The 37-year-old told GQ that, although his recent success has been “amazing and mind-blowing”, he had decided to take some time to focus on staffing the charity “and making sure we get all the right people in all the right places”.

Bailey’s comments then prompted a slew of headlines suggesting that he was quitting acting altogether.

In a new interview with Esquire, Bailey revealed that he had decided against shooting two films while the Shameless Fund was “bubbling away” and explained that he had been cycling between Rome and Pisa while carrying out press interviews.

“As a result, there was an unfortunate misquote that said I’d stopped acting for a bit.”

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“My intention was to say, ‘Next year I’ll be back,’ but yeah, the ripple effect was extraordinary,” he added.

The Bridgerton actor went on to reveal that the resulting headlines prompted his sister to phone him up and ask if he was really quitting.

“My sister, who I’m close to and lives in Australia, called me and said, “Wow, is everything OK? You’ve given up?’” he recalled.

“By Monday, the headlines were ‘Jonathan Bailey has quit acting.’ I learnt at that moment you can’t control it.”

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Clearing things up, Bailey confirmed that he will “definitely be back to work next year” and does not plan on “taking the whole of 2026 off”.

The actor, who is set to reprise his role as Fiyero in Wicked: For Good later this month, recently made history when he became the first openly gay winner of People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” accolade.

“It’s a huge honour,” Bailey told the magazine. “Obviously, I’m incredibly flattered. And it’s completely absurd.”