By Daniel Welsh
If ever there were a candidate for 鈥渕an of the moment鈥 it would be Jonathan Bailey.
After blowing up big time when he was cast as one of the leads in Netflix鈥檚 hit period drama Bridgerton, Jonathan鈥檚 star has only continued to rise with coveted roles on both stage and screen, including playing heartthrob Fiyero in Wicked and his Emmy-nominated performance in the devastating Fellow Travelers.
This year, he鈥檚 kept that momentum going with a leading role in the new movie Jurassic World: Rebirth, in which he stars opposite Scarlett Johansson, before he completes Fiyero鈥檚 story in the musical sequel, Wicked For Good.
Don鈥檛 go thinking the British performer is some kind of 鈥渙vernight sensation鈥, though. The acclaimed actor has been putting in hard graft for years now, popping up in all kinds of shows you might not have realised.
Here are just a handful of roles he played before Jurassic World came calling that might have passed you by completely鈥
Baddiel鈥檚 Syndrome (2001)
Jonathan made his start as a child actor, playing David Baddiel鈥檚 on-screen son Josh in the short-lived Sky sitcom Baddiel鈥檚 Syndrome.
Definitely one to be filed under the 鈥渉as not aged well鈥 category, an ongoing plotline saw David鈥檚 character 鈥渨orrying鈥 that his son is gay based on his 鈥渋nterests鈥 and the fact he鈥檚 鈥渄elicate鈥 and 鈥渟ensitive for his age鈥.
Five Children And It (2004)
After roles in the TV movies Alice Through The Looking Glass and Bright Hair, as well as stage performances in Les Mis茅rables and A Christmas Carol, Jonathan crossed over to the big screen in 2004, when he was still in his teens.
He shared the screen with Kenneth Branagh, Zoe Wannamaker and fellow child star Freddie Highmore in the family film Five Children And It, playing Cyril.
Doctors (2007)
Like pretty much every other future A-list actor in Britain, Jonathan made an appearance in the daytime soap Doctors early on in his career.
In his episode, he played a teenager with a heart condition who was feeling smothered by his overprotective mum.
And if you want more thing to cross off your 鈥渙bligatory British TV shows鈥 bingo card, he followed this up a year later with a short stint in The Bill.
Leonardo (2011)
One of Jonathan鈥檚 first leading roles was in the CBBC series Leonardo. As the title suggests, he played a teenage Leonardo DaVinci growing up in 15th-century Florence.
The show ended in 2012 after two seasons.
Me And Mrs Jones (2012)
Around this time he appeared in the BBC comedy Me And Mrs Jones playing the son of Gemma Jones and Neil Morrissey鈥檚 characters.
Check out the above clip to watch him and The Umbrella Academy鈥檚 Robert Sheehan trying to chat up a pre-fame Emily Atack.
Broadchurch (2013)
If you鈥檝e been wondering for years where you actually recognise Jonathan Bailey from, but you鈥檝e never quite been able to put your finger on it, there鈥檚 every chance the answer is Broadchurch.
Like fellow Broadchurch stars Jodie Whittaker and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, he was part of the the ITV police drama just before making it big. He played Olivia Colman鈥檚 nephew, the ambitious reporter Olly Stevens, in the first two series of Broadchurch.
Jonathan has appeared in all three series of this cult BBC comedy, which takes the form of a mockumentary set at Broadcasting House.
His character was initially a supporting role, but was bumped up to the main cast for the most recent two seasons.
Doctor Who (2014)
That鈥檚 right, Jonathan Bailey was actually in an episode of Doctor Who, too.
He portrayed 鈥渁ugmented鈥 human Psi during the eighth series, sharing the screen with Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman.
Crashing (2016)
Just a few short months before Fleabag took the world by storm, Phoebe Waller-Bridge starred as Lulu in the Channel 4 sitcom Crashing, which she also co-wrote.
The show centred around a group of people living together as 鈥減roperty guardians鈥 in a disused London hospital, with Jonathan playing Lulu鈥檚 sexually-charged friend Sam.
Chewing Gum (2017)
When Chewing Gum returned for its second season in 2017, Jonathan joined the cast as the seemingly-suave Ash, a new love interest for Tracey, played by Michaela Coel, who also created and wrote the show.
However, Ash eventually gets his comeuppance when Tracey discovers that not only is he married with children, he鈥檚 going out with her to fulfil a fetish.
Final Fantasy XIV (2019)
And finally, it鈥檚 not just appearances in film and TV that Jonathan can boast.
In 2019, he voiced G鈥檙aha Tia in the Final Fantasy expansion pack Shadowbringers, and even reprised the role for the 2021 follow-up Endwalker.
Later this year, you鈥檒l also hear him among the all-star cast of the new video game Squadron 42.
Wicked is in cinemas now.