If you noticed something a little different about Jonathan Bailey in Wicked that you couldn’t quite put your finger on, we may have an answer for you.
The Bridgerton actor has revealed he actually wore blue contacts to play Fiyero in the hit movie musical, while fans of the Netflix period drama and Fellow Travelers are probably more used to seeing him with brown eyes.
Speaking to Cinemablend, the Olivier winner shared that there was a good reason for his character’s specific eye colour – although he can’t reveal it just yet.
“The reason why we did that will become clear in the second film,” Jonathan explained of his “winkie blue” eyes in the Wicked movie (his character helms from what’s known in the film’s in-universe as “Winkie country”, he wasn’t just being rude).
“I did feel like I was in a greenhouse,” he added, referring to the difficulties of acting while wearing coloured contacts.
“It’s definitely a different experience. It does sort of restrict [what you can see] but I think it will be worth it.”
Now, we’re going to get into spoilers in a second, so if you’re not familiar with what comes next in the story… we’d recommend heading off to read some more of our Wicked content here.
Everyone else, read on...
@cinemablend Jonathan Bailey teases the reason for Fiyero’s blue eyes will be revealed in a certain “Wicked Part 2” duet and it will be “worth it” ???? #jonathanbailey#wicked#wickedmovie#fiyero#elphaba#aslongasyouremine#movies#musical#celebrityinterview
♬ original sound - cinemablend
Well, don’t say we didn’t warn you, OK?
Those who’ve already seen the Wicked stage musical or read Gregory Maguire’s novel will know that Fiyero eventually becomes the character we know from The Wizard Of Oz as the Scarecrow.
References to this are peppered throughout the first Wicked movie, including the “thoughtless” and “brainless” lyrics in Fieryo’s solo Dancing Through Life and Elphaba’s “get stuffed” comment towards him.
However, Jonathan teased that a lyric in the Part 2 duet As Long As You’re Mine could hold the reason behind his coloured contacts.
Jonathan told Cinemablend: “There’s a lyric in the duet, ‘you’ve got me seeing through different eyes’. And so that might give you an indicator of what happens later. So, there is a reason.”
Wicked is in cinemas now, with the sequel slated for release in November 2025.
