Jonathan Bailey Is 2025’s Highest-Grossing Actor
The openly gay star led two major blockbusters, but some Hollywood insiders still questioned his bankability.
Jonathan Bailey is the highest-grossing actor of the year, according to Variety.
The openly gay actor played key roles in two blockbusters this year — Dr. Henry Loomis in Jurassic World Rebirth, the fifth-highest-grossing film of the year at more than $869 million worldwide, and Fiyero in Wicked: For Good, which has grossed more than $468.3 million since its November 21 theatrical release.
Bailey first rose to global fame as Lord Anthony Bridgerton on Netflix’s Bridgerton, and has since taken on a string of high-profile projects, including the role of a closeted congressional aide in Showtime’s Fellow Travelers, which earned him an Emmy nomination and a Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries.
The movie star also recently made history by becoming the first out gay man to be named People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive.”
Yet despite Bailey’s recent film success, a studio head told The Hollywood Reporter in June that they were “not sure” the actor “can carry a movie on his own yet.”
In the same article, Bailey, who has been out for much of his career, said that openly gay actors continue to face headwinds in the industry, citing lingering societal prejudices about gay men playing straight characters.
“There’s moments where, yes, you have to be excellent to prove that you can do it,” he said. “And it’s not like I haven’t felt that. There’s the weight of history. And there’s endless brilliant people who have come before you who have changed the way that people see sexuality. Any sort of sense of prejudice against sexuality is something to fight against, and what better way to do that than to go and play any kind of character.”
Last year, Bailey launched The Shameless Fund, a charity that provides financial support to LGBTQ organizations and initiatives. He recently said he plans to step away from acting to focus on his work with the nonprofit.
“I’ve been working solidly for about three years now, which has been amazing and mind-blowing,” he told British GQ. “But with everything happening in the world right now, I’m going to stop acting for a bit next year and just focus on The Shameless Fund. Over the next few months, I’ll be focusing on staffing and making sure we get all the right people in all the right places.”
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