Jonathan Bailey for the “Wicked: For Good” and Dunkin’ collaboration.
Dunkin’
For Jonathan Bailey, giving back to others is simply “a no-brainer.”
The Critics Choice award-winning actor, Emmy nominee and People Magazine’s first openly gay “Sexiest Man Alive” founded his The Shameless Fund in 2024, which uses brand collaborations to raise money to support LGBTQ+ rights and organizations, and has remained a major focus around his rising stardom. In fact, earlier this year, Bailey, 37, leaned into the popularity behind his “slutty little glasses” that he wore as Dr. Henry Loomis in Jurassic World: Rebirth to sell eyeglasses in partnership with the British company Cubitts, while effectively raising funds for his mission.
Best known for his breakout role as Lord Anthony in Bridgerton, Tim Laughlin in Fellow Travelers and continuing on as Fiyero in Wicked: For Good, the UK-born actor, activist and businessman has utilized his elevated platform and loyal (and very vocal) fanbase to do his own “good” within our real world today.
Jonathan Bailey attends Time100 Next at Current at Chelsea Piers on October 30, 2025 in New York City, New York.
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“I just feel lucky that I can help,” Bailey told me of his LGBTQ+ community efforts with The Shameless Fund. “We’re a part of a long history of incredible people and I’m very, very happy and excited to play my part in it.”
Speaking with Bailey early on Wednesday as he prepared to depart from São Paulo, Brazil, following the Wicked: For Good global tour premiere that kicked off there in South America the night before, we discussed the much-anticipated cinematic conclusion from director Jon M. Chu and starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. We also dive into Bailey’s new Wicked menu collaboration with Dunkin’, which just builds even more momentum as moviegoers anxiously wait for November 21 to see how Bailey’s portrayal as Fiyero and many other beloved characters within the world of Oz will ultimately play out up on the big screen.
Jonathan Bailey: Are you in LA now?
Jeff Conway: I am in LA, yes.
Bailey: Right. Is the sun shining? Yes?
Conway: No, it’s 5:30am, so it’s still dark. So, I’m waking up with Jonathan Bailey, which is a great thing to be able to say.
Bailey: Oh, Jeff! I’m blushing.
Conway: Do you mind if I call you Jonny?
Bailey: Of course. Yeah, call me Jonny.
Conway: Well first of all, I saw this Dunkin’ fake Wicked: For Good “End Credits Scene” commercial. It’s super fun between you and Cynthia. So, with you both having such a background in theatre, how enjoyable was it for you, Jonny, to get to be silly in this way and play in a very performative, stage-like spoof?
Bailey: It’s brilliant. Me and Cynthia, we’ll be working together, I’m sure, until the very end. And so, any chance of a new collaboration and we dive straight in, and Dunkin’ is like iconic Americana. Me and Cynthia are two honorary Americans stepping into the world of Oz. It’s highly sort of hilarious and brilliant. Me and Cynthia get on so well and it’s amazing to just keep on playing with a little twinkle in our eye.
Conway: I love that. I’m sure you’ve been talking about it a lot, but you were just crowned this year’s “Sexiest Man Alive” by People Magazine. So congratulations, my friend.
PEOPLE’s “Sexiest Man Alive” Jonathan Bailey arrives at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on November 3, 2025 in New York City, New York.
Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images
Bailey: Thank you very much. It’s a huge honor.
Conway: So deserving and a spot-on choice, if I may say so myself. Well done, People.
Bailey: Well done, People. I know. There’s nothing sexier than progress.
Conway: I completely agree there, but as playful as this honor is, Jonny, and I know you’ve been very cheeky when discussing it so far – have you thought about what a “coveted” title like this can and likely will do for your career, as well as to gain quality attention towards the projects and causes, like The Shameless Fund, that you hold close to your heart?
Bailey: Yeah, there’s something about knowing when that invitation came in, it’s amazing to be able to accept it without a second thought, knowing that it’s meaningful and impactful, as well as just an incredible and hilarious honor. It’s not lost on me at all. I grew up being very inspired by sexy men, and by that, I mean also a lot of people who have shifted the way that we understand ourselves in society. Of course, there was no way I wasn’t going to step into that corner this year, when the opportunity arose. I know what it means, you know, for me – for little me – and also, for a lot of people out there. It’s a celebratory moment for a lot of people.
Conway: I’ve been able to already see Wicked: For Good – and it’s so good! I love your evolving performance as Fiyero. It’s such a joy to watch. As much as Elphaba and Glinda’s characters evolve beautifully over these two films, I think you’d agree that you’ve had such a heartwarming and valiant evolution as Fiyero in playing this role, as he no longer focuses on vanity and utilizes his rebellious nature into something productive in doing what’s right, even when it’s not “popular.” So, what has satisfied you most, Jonny, in getting to embody Fiyero over the course of these two films and getting to act out his shifting mindset and actions?
Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero in “Wicked: For Good”
Universal Pictures
Bailey: I mean, even as an audience member, I love to watch a character’s journey and a huge detailed character arc. I think what’s really fascinating and what I was really intrigued by is his sort of front-footed use of his charm and charisma, and his megawatt sort of choreography and wit in the first film. When he’s activated and he is seen by someone like Elphaba, how that becomes stiller and calmer, and there’s a really sort of low-frequency power to Fiyero in the second film. I was excited to explore that, I think. It’s a huge journey and it’s about decisions and the choices that are made. There are obviously huge repercussions, but to be able to play someone who throws all their privilege aside to support someone who is doing something meaningful and impactful, and someone who’s leading with kindness, I was really excited to do that. Also, just to be able to be playing playing around with Ari and Cynthia. I know supporting them is going to be an honor of a lifetime.
Conway: Absolutely, but you were excellent. They were all excellent. So congratulations, Jonny. So good.
Bailey: Thank you, Jeff.
Conway: But Jonny, you know how much work goes into the behind-the-scenes of a given production to elevate your own acting performance – from the hair, the makeup, the costumes, the production design, the music and more. So, can you speak to your Wicked creative team and the amount of hands and minds that made your job on-set that much more thrilling and helpful for you to get into character?
Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero in “Wicked: For Good”
Universal Pictures
Bailey: Well, there’s so many reasons to be so proud of being a part of Wicked. Not only is it that it brings people together into the cinemas and it’s all about community, but it’s also a celebration of extraordinary talent and craft across all of the departments. There was this sort of incredible alignment of people who were being able to really flex years and years and years of artistry – to be a canvas for their work. It was just phenomenal. I mean, none of it is CGI. Even in these moments that might be a couple of minutes of film – months and months of planning went into it.
Conway: Jonny, a question I like to ask beloved actors, like yourself, that we the public have come to know more and more in recent years is – Who is Jonathan Bailey in 2025? What brings the greatest passion and purpose to your days lately?
Bailey: For me, it’s being sort of about community, I think. It’s about bringing people together now. That’s what I feel quite focused on and spending time with people that you love and being curious about people that you don’t know and people who have different experiences. I think that’s what keeps me going and excited and happy and grounded. I know even with Cynthia, we have these incredible conversations and we have done so since we started working together. To have seen Cynthia in her first professional production in Sussex, and then to now be doing this with her and then to be on-set having a wild time shooting this Dunkin’ collaboration with Wicked, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? It’s about looking back, seeing how far things are moving, compared to when you were younger, and it’s about those long-term friendships and creative collaborations, I think. And something about Wicked and about Jon M. Chu is that he’s gathered people together who all had something to say and something to celebrate in the way that the story is told. I think that is why it’s resonating so massively with such a huge audience. I’m just very thrilled to be a part of it. So right now, it’s Dunkin’ and Wicked that keep me buzzing.
Jonathan Bailey, Jon M. Chu and Cynthia Erivo during the red carpet for the movie “Wicked: For Good” at SUHAI Music Hall on November 4, 2025 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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Conway: I love that. So, two last questions. My signature question is, Jonny, if you could speak to Fiyero after embodying him over these two Wicked films – and could give him advice, a warning or a comforting message, what do you feel that this gentleman would appreciate hearing from you, the person who has come to know him rather well, from the outside in?
Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero and Ariana Grande as Glinda in “Wicked: For Good”
Universal Pictures
Bailey: I think I would sit him down and just say you have to communicate how you’re feeling. Just, you know, talk it through – and also, just stay away from fields. Just stay away from the farmlands.
Conway: Lastly, when it comes to Dunkin’, since you are doing this collaboration, what is your guilty pleasure? If there’s something at Dunkin’ – and do you feel it would be the same for Fiyero or would you have a different palate than Fiyero, Jonny?
Bailey: Well, there’s nothing better than nibbling on a MUNCHIN.
Conway: It’s on-theme with Wicked, too!
Jonathan Bailey and Cynthia Erivo for the “Wicked” and Dunkin’ collaboration.
Dunkin’
Bailey: Totally! No, I tell you, the Wicked Pink Refresher, I couldn’t get enough of on the day [we filmed]. It was delicious and a total palate cleanse. So, I had to have mine sort of taken away from me because I was doing endless refills. So, mine is the Glinda Pink and Cynthia loves a [Wicked Green] Matcha.