Jonathan Bailey’s Wicked Casting: Directors Reveal Near Miss For Fiyero Role

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The team behind the upcoming Wicked movie recently explained why Jonathan Bailey almost didn’t get the role of Fiyero. Bailey, who was just named People‘s Sexiest Man Alive, has been incredibly busy with projects like Bridgerton, Jurassic World Rebirth, Wicked, and Wicked: For Good, making it difficult to fit everything into his schedule.

Bailey was so busy with other commitments that she nearly didn’t accept the role in Wicked. According to casting directors Bernard Tesley and Tiffany Canfield, who spoke with People magazine, Bailey was already committed to three other jobs when she auditioned for the film.

I remember hearing that Canfield just wouldn’t give up on getting Josh Groban for the part, even when everyone kept telling him Groban wasn’t free! That kicked off this really tough process of trying to convince him to play Fiyero. It was a real struggle, but they kept at it!

Tesley and Canfield had both seen Bailey perform in the 2018 West End production of Company. Coincidentally, he was visiting New York just before casting for a new show began and had a meeting with the casting directors. After the meeting, Tesley turned to Canfield and said, “He’d be perfect as Fiyero, don’t you think?”

We first noticed Johnny when he performed in ‘Company’ in London. As part of our work, we keep track of actors, even if we don’t know them well. He’d already passed through New York before we really started following his career, and we had an initial meeting with him. I specifically remember turning to a colleague, Tiffany, and saying, ‘He’d be perfect as Fiyero, wouldn’t he?’

The project was very challenging, but Tesley and Canfield both remained committed to Bailey, despite his demanding schedule. Bailey’s manager, Duncan Millership, was instrumental in getting him the role of Fiyero.

The actor sent in an audition video, and Canfield was impressed by the playful and funny way he portrayed the character. He also felt the actor showed genuine emotion and vulnerability.

As soon as we saw the self-tape, we knew it was perfect. It had a playful energy, was funny, but also felt genuinely human and vulnerable.

Eventually, “the clouds opened up and he’s in it,” Tesley concluded.

Many people said he was unreachable, but we were determined to connect with him. We kept persistently trying, and finally, we succeeded!

Actor Billy Porter recently showed just how in-demand he is. He missed most of the NBC special Wicked: One Wonderful Night because he was working on another project in London. His Wicked co-star, Bowen Yang, who is also on Saturday Night Live, stepped in to perform “Dancing Through Life” in his place.

Bailey did participate in the interviews with the cast that were shown throughout the special.

I’ve been so impressed watching Bailey’s career take off! He’s become a huge star thanks to shows like Bridgerton and movies like Jurassic World Rebirth, and I’m really excited for the Wicked films. It was surprising to hear he’s planning to take a break from acting in 2026, but it’s amazing that he wants to dedicate more time to his LGBTQ+ organization, The Shameless Fund. It’s great to see him using his platform for something so important.

Viewers can still expect to see Jonathan Bailey as Lord Anthony Bridgerton in season 4 of Bridgerton, coming to Netflix on January 29, 2026.

Bailey’s natural charm and confidence as Fiyero, and his strong performance alongside stars like Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, showed the Wicked casting team made the right choice in hiring him. His success, including being named Sexiest Man Alive, might not have happened if not for Tesley and Canfield.

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2025-11-26 01:33