Jonathan Bailey Rehearsed His BigWickedNumber While Working on 2 Other Major Projects (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero in ‘Wicked.'.Photo:Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures

Jonathan Baileyis always booked and busy!

The actor, 36, rehearsed a large musical number forWickedwhile simultaneously filmingBridgertonandFellow Travelers.

“I’ve got videos on my phone of me practicing on long-haul flights," Bailey says inPEOPLE’s new specialWickededitionof practicing his character Prince Fiyero Tigelaar’s big ballroom number, “Dancing Through Life,” amid his other projects.

At one point in his travels, Bailey was even met with a circumstance less than ideal for his royal role, as an airline lost his luggage while he was traveling from Canada.

Leaving him with just the clothes on his back, Bailey did, however, still have access to Fiyero’s magic dance boots, which were in his carry-on.

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Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Marissa Bode and Ethan Slater attend a ‘Wicked’ premiere in Australia on Nov. 3.Don Arnold/WireImage

Don Arnold/WireImage

Wicked, the upcoming film adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical, starsAriana Grandeas Glinda, oppositeCynthia Erivo, who portrays Elphaba. (The musical’s original Broadway cast includedKristin ChenowethandIdina Menzelin the roles, respectively.)

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Bailey tells PEOPLE that his character “has that golden glow of privilege where everything comes to him so easily that the most interesting thing for him to do is to rile everyone up.”

“He’s never really met anyone who challenges him,” continues the star, who landed his first job at age 7 in a Royal Shakespeare Company production ofA Christmas Caroland has since appeared on dozens of stages, including the 2019 gender-swapped production of Stephen Sondheim’sCompany,for which he won an Olivier Award.

Buy PEOPLE’sWickedspecial editionhere.Wickedwill be released in two parts, with the first arriving in theaters on Friday, Nov. 22.

source: people.com