Jonathan Bailey announces plan to take a break from acting – for a very positive reason

Jonathan Bailey has decided to take a break from acting to focus on his charity, The Shameless Fund.

The Bridgerton star launched the charitable organisation last year to “power up international, national and grassroots LGBTQ+ [not-for-profit organisations]” and help LGBTQ+ people around the world live more freely.

At the same time, Bailey has been kept busy with roles in Jurassic World: Rebirth and Wicked as well as the demanding international press tours that come with those films.

But, it would seem he’s ready to take a break. Speaking to GQ to promote The Shameless Fund’s collaboration with the eyewear brand, Cubitts, the actor touched on what’s next. Having worked “solidly for about three years” he’s taking a step back.

“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.”

Bailey cited a statistic that “out of every £100 raised in the UK, only 1p goes to the LGBTQ+ community,” as reason why his Fund and its collaborations are so important. “You really have to dig to find solutions, and I genuinely think The Shameless Fund is exactly that. That’s why this collaboration with Cubitts has been so amazing. Not only is it fun and creative, it can also make a real difference.”

The LGBT+ Consortium reports a similar statistic, that 10p out of every £100 raised for charity goes to UK LGBTQ+ causes. And in 2023, the Baring Foundation, a grant giving not for profit, reported that 3p out of every £100 raised for charity in the UK goes to LGBTQ+ causes here.

Bailey also shared with GQ that, despite wearing glasses for 10 years, he has “20/20 vision.” He then explained, “I’ve always had a thing for glasses. And you know what? I was so desperate to have them that I faked an NHS eye test when I was younger.”

The Jurassic World: Rebirth actor became known for his “slutty little glasses”. It started when the first image of him as Dr Henry Loomis in the latest Jurassic film was released. Since then, fans have made it clear how much they love the eyewear, especially when Bailey wears them.

This didn’t go unnoticed by the film’s marketing team or Bailey. The “thrilled” actor then started promoting Jurassic World: Rebirth in the glasses.