Jonathan Bailey stars as Tim Laughlin, an idealistic and devout congressional staffer who embarks on a secret, passionate, and dangerous love affair with Matt Bomer’s character, Howard “Hawk” Fuller, in Fellow Travelers, based on the 2007 novel by Thomas Mallon.
Fellow Travelers tells the story of two gay men whose relationship begins in 1950s America, a time when institutionalized homophobia led to the persecution of gays and lesbians.
Bailey appeared on Late Night with Seth Myers to reveal behind-the-scenes secrets on choosing the one big thing that remained constant throughout the decades-long love story–his prosthetic penis.
The recently, and first time, Emmy-nominated actor talked about the nuances of getting their steamy love scenes right. Talking to Seth Myers, Bailey explains:
“There are these beautiful sex scenes throughout which are so important because when you look at the power and impression of these gay men, when they come together we explore how the blossoming nature of the landscape, ‘where they live,’ ‘how that affects their sex lives,’ and also ‘how they come together.’ It’s beautiful.”
@fellow_travelers They were each other’s great consuming loves 💌 All episodes of #FellowTravelers are now streaming on @Paramount Plus with @Showtime ✨ #jonathanbailey #mattbomer #romance #actors
Seth Myer jokes, “Would you call them stunt doubles?” To which Bailey responds, ” I just call them props,” and cheekily adds, “They’ve all got their different personalities.”
Talking about choosing to use a prosthetic penis, Bailey explains that:
“There’s so many things that change with Tim, the character that I play.You know, he grows hair, he had staches, and he had–But there’s one thing that remained the same throughout…”
At first, Bailey and Bomer’s characters wore protective, modesty undergarments during their sex scenes, but to make the scenes more authentic and emotionally impactful, Bailey had to make a “big” choice. Despite the film’s heavy themes, the Wicked star found humor in the behind-the-scenes moments. He fondly recalls the time the show’s wardrobe assistant, Beth, left a surprise in his suitcase—his assigned modesty cloth with googly eyes glued on, and which he jokingly named “Little Timmy.”
The talented actor is set to return to the theater, but in the meantime, you can catch more of this beautiful man as Tim Laughlin on Fellow Travelers on Paramount+ with Showtime, as Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton on Netflix’s Bridgerton, and soon as Fiyero in the highly anticipated movie-musical Wicked.
This man is everywhere, and we are definitely not complaining!