Jonathan Bailey is back on our screens, and this time, he’s traded in Bridgerton ballrooms and emotional eye contact for dinosaurs, danger, and… short shorts?
The British multi-hyphenate makes his debut in the Jurassic World franchise as Dr. Henry Loomis in Jurassic World: Rebirth, starring alongside Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali. The film throws him into the thick of it—literally—wading through mangroves, dangling off rock faces, and yes, constantly running away from certain death by dino.
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Bailey’s Loomis is a driven, jacked paleontologist (yes, we said jacked) who gets recruited to extract dinosaur DNA for a private pharma company, believing it could lead to life-saving medical breakthroughs.
“That’s the brilliant concept of the original Jurassic Park: just because we can, should we?” Bailey reflects.
A refreshing turn from his usual morally complicated charmers, Loomis is a grounded and principled man. But don’t be fooled—this scientist is not to be messed with. Case in point? When early behind-the-scenes photos of Bailey training for the role emerged, biceps bulging, fans flooded the comments section. One thirsty gem? “He playing a dinosaur?”
And though he’s now conquered both Hollywood (Wicked, Fellow Travelers, Jurassic World) and the Emerald City (Wicked again—obviously), Bailey stays grounded thanks to his friends.
“You can’t really gauge the scale of it, even when people say it’s big,” he said of the Wicked press tour. But when he came home to share his stories, his friends were quick to cut him off: “Yeah,” they said. “We already saw that.”
We’ve already gushed about his tiny glasses era, but this week, it’s all about short shorts and that now-iconic skirt—fashion choices he absolutely owns in Rebirth–literally. He’s proving once and for all that high-octane action movies and queer-coded wardrobe choices are not mutually exclusive.
As for the action scenes, it was intense.
“Scarlett and Mahershala were like, ‘You have to go to the gym so you can sustain it and get through the day,’” Bailey shared. And sustain it he did: endless running, climbing, and dramatic slow-motion escapes from T-Rexes. “You’re constantly running with the energy that you’re about to be chomped by a T-Rex.” Iconic.
And yes, there’s a gym scene. Because of course there is. Bailey teases, “You’ll find out. There’s something about his character he talks about. He goes to the gym and it’s a moment in the story!” Camp meets cardio? We’re in.
Bailey hopes he’s made Steven Spielberg proud—but just as importantly, he wants to do all the heroic paleontologists out there proud too. And judging by the early buzz (and those biceps), he already has.
Whether he’s fighting the lavender scare in Fellow Travelers, belting in Wicked, or running from genetically modified lizards in short shorts (or at least in that photoshoot), Jonathan Bailey continues to live his best, most versatile life—and we’re lucky enough to be along for the ride.
RELATED: British GQ